A method, apparatus, system, and user interface are provided for managing
e-mail rules and alert subscriptions from multiple sources. Alert
messages and persistent state objects, such as cookies, are examined to
determine whether they relate to an alert subscription. If an e-mail
message or persistent state object is determined to relate to an alert
subscription, a network address for a subscription source identified by
the contents of the e-mail message or state object are added to a list of
subscription sources. A request may then be received to manage one or
more alert subscriptions. In response to the request, each subscription
source identified in the list of subscription sources is validated. Each
validated subscription source is added to a current subscriptions list,
which is displayed to a user. Each subscription in the current
subscriptions list may be modified or deleted by the user through a
unified user interface for managing e-mail rules and alert subscriptions.
Schema and data structures are also provided for communication between an
e-mail and alert subscription client and a subscription source.