A method for updating an electronic mail (“email”) message presented to a user on a display screen of a data processing system, the email message belonging to a thread of email messages received by the data processing system, the method comprising: determining whether one or more of the email messages in the thread was received after the email message is opened on the display screen; and, if so, displaying an update message on the display screen indicating that one or more of the email messages in the thread was so received.