E-mail failures

i have seen different behaviors with no apparent pattern.

a number of times when i have RECEIVED an email thru the "send email" function, the person is shown as having an email address which is their forum handle plus"@greeneggers.com" (or something similar, implying their address is through the forum, which we know isn't the case).

when i reply, i get an autoresponse that there is no such address or something.

yet, invariably, i ultimately get a response from the person, on their regular email address, which shows they DID receive it.

an example..

an forum member with handle "joeblow" sends me an email. i see their return address as "joeblow@greeneggers.net". i reply.

i get an error back showing no such user at "greeneggers.net". (i'm using greeneggers.net as an example. i don't recall the exact domain, but it's obviously forum-related, not their personal email address)

an hour later i get an email from "JoeWhomever@hotmail.com" in answer to my reply frpm their regular email account .

it's as if they are anonymous when sending to you, hidden behind a proxy email address which the forum gives them. when you reply, it returns an error, yet the message gets forwarded to their real address anyway.

that said, i HAVE received emails via the forum where the person's real address is reflected. seems buggy, but it seems to work