~BD~ wrote:
> You will see in the message info. below that this email was addressed as
> shown:
>
> To: <boab_doc@hotmail.co.uk>
>
> How can it have arrived in *my* inbox (I'm BoaterDave at hotmail.co.uk)

Short version:

What the mail recipient sees in the To: field is only what the sender
constructed/configured to populate the To: field. A great many other
recipients can receive the same mail.

Another version:

If you (yourself with your mail agent) construct a mail to send to a
great many recipients, it is not necessary (nor wise nor polite) to put
all of your recipients into the To: field. Instead you can put all of
them into the BCC field. Or you can put one of them into the To: field
and then all of the recipients you included in the BCC field will get a
mail showing that person's To:

Another version:

For some discussions, it is useful to consider the concept of what some
call the 'smtp envelope' which is a series of transactions between the
sender and the smtp server. Those elements consist of HELO, MAIL FROM,
RCPT TO, and DATA. The information concerning who is to receive the mail
is in the RCPT TO part. The information about the structure of the mail
such as subject and from and to and cc is contained in the DATA section.

--
Mike Easter