Electronic mail is archived and retrieved based on metadata generated by
the client sending the electronic mail. The metadata is generated based
on variable metadata generation policies distributed to each client. The
metadata generation policies are executed in each client in conjunction
with each electronic mail sent from the client. The electronic mail is
received in a mail server on route to at least one addressee of the
electronic mail. The received electronic mail is processed based on the
metadata attached to the received electronic mail.