Abstract: A method and apparatus for excluding recipients from a list of recipients are provided. The list may be a distribution list or may manually be entered in any or all of an addressee box, a carbon copy box and a blind copy box of a GUI of an e-mail software tool. The present invention uses an added box (i.e., an exclusion box) to exclude recipients from the list. Before actually sending a message to a list of recipients, the invention checks to see whether any one of the recipients should not receive the message. If a recipient is not to receive the message (indicated by an entry in the exclusion box), the invention extricates the address of the recipient from the list and then forwards the message to the rest of the recipients.