Abstract: Responding to a telephone call made by a calling party includes receiving a first telephone call and identifying an account associated with the telephone number to which the first calling party directed the first telephone call. Configuration data related to the account is accessed. A first identity associated with the account is identified based on the configuration data accessed. A first electronic communication is sent to a computer of a first called party associated with the first identity. The first called party may respond to the first electronic communication by dynamically and manually inputting a call redirection telephone number, sending an e-mail, or sending an instant message. If a call redirection telephone number is inputted, the first telephone call may be redirected to the call redirection telephone number.

Abstract: Screening a telephone call made by a calling party includes receiving a telephone call at a messaging service platform and identifying an account associated with the telephone number to which the calling party directed the incoming telephone call. Configuration data related to the account are accessed, and several identities associated with the account are determined based on the configuration data accessed. A first identity is determined from among the several identities based on the configuration data accessed. The availability of the first identity to receive audio data from the messaging service platform is determined. Audio data is transmitted from the messaging service platform to a computer of the first called party associated with the first identity while the calling party is leaving an audio message. The transmission is conditioned on whether the first identity is determined to be available to receive the audio data.

Abstract: Screening a traditional telephony call made by a calling party to a called party includes receiving, over a telephone network, the traditional telephony call from the calling party at a messaging service platform, recording an audio message from the calling party as audio data, and transmitting the audio data from the messaging service platform to a computer of the called party while the calling party is leaving the audio message. Before the calling party finishes leaving the audio message, the called party perceives the transmitted audio data and reacts to the traditional telephony call in response to the audio message.