Methods and systems for creating a full-featured, individually customized email system by allowing end-users of an electronic mail system to extend standard electronic mail protocol for the creation of user-defined commands that are recognizable and executable by an electronic mail system and that can alter processing performed after a server accepts a piece of electronic mail. Routine events are raised during the communication of information and processing of data that give rise to the execution of registered commands. The commands are registered in an event-binding database and include standard commands and user-defined commands that are executed according to priority.