1. In a computing environment, wherein messages are processed, a method of processing messages based on a characteristic derived from at least one of information in messages, metadata about messages, or other information external to messages, the method comprising: receiving one or more values for one or more pieces of information, wherein at least one of the values for the one or more pieces of information is associated with a first message; receiving one or more queries, the queries specifying one or more of the one or more pieces of information; processing the one or more values for the one or more pieces of information in conjunction with the one or more queries to create one or more normalized characteristics for the first message, wherein the one or more normalized characteristics for the first message are in a same format irrespective of the format of the pieces of information; and processing the first message based on at least one of the one or more normalized characteristics.