Quote marks usually indicate unneeded spaces. Your example seems to show a leading space and one between first and last name.

My problem was not why the address was bad - it is obviously bad. My problem is that Tbird insists on using it despite all efforts to remove it.

All suggestions come from one of your address books. You just have to find it and fix or remove it. Start addressing a message with the problem address and then save the message to the drafts folder. Then go to the drafts folder and make sure the Message Pane is active. It toggles on and off using F8. Is there a gold star following the problem address? If yes that indicates that it is an address book. You can click the gold star to open the edit dialog box for that contact and either fix the problem or use the Delete key to remove it.

Each time the message has been sent and rejected by the mail administrator I check the Tbird Sent message and there is always a gold star after the address and it is always to wrong, old address. I always edit it and correct it. And when I send the message again the old, wrong, address is substituted for the correct one. I think I mentioned that I have, repeatedly, checked every address list and removed the wrong address whenever I find it. Here is the latest rejection from the mail administrator:

This Message was undeliverable due to the following reason:

Each of the following recipients was rejected by a remote mail server. The reasons given by the server are included to help you determine why each recipient was rejected.

   Recipient: <"john wasiliev"@fairfaxmedia.com.au>
   Reason:    5.1.2 The address specified is not a valid RFC-5321 address. kj2si14901398igb.11 - gsmtp

Please reply to <Postmaster@mx.bigpond.com> if you feel this message to be in error.

I sent this email to john wasiliev@fairfaxmedia.com.au.

Tbird not only sent it to the wrong address but also changed the address in the address list back to the wrong address - I just corrected it again.

No spaces are allowed in email addresses. If you keep sending to the address with a space between the first and last name you will continue to get the same results.

It is true that part of the problem was that the address I was trying to use was bad - I've fixed this and problem is solved. But it still bothers me that Tbird kept dredging up the old, wrong, address no matter how many times I deleted it. When something is deleted it should stay deleted. Problem solved but still weird behaviour by Tbird.

Here is a case where the new "All Address Books" feature would actually be useful. Just enter into All Address Books and you can search for this contact, guaranteeing that you will find all such entries.

It's surprising how often we have to point out to users that there are multiple address books. Some appear to only ever use the default, and have no awareness of others such as Collected Addresses.

Does your address book behave properly in other respects? Can you successfully add and remove addresses? A corrupt address book becomes non-writable, so it shows changes in the GUI but fails to write them to the data file, resulting in changes being lost when Thunderbird is closed and reopened. You may have correctly identified and removed the offending address, but if it has stopped saving your changes...

The way to repair an address book is to export it to an LDIF file, delete or remove the broken address book from Thunderbird, then re-import the LDIF file.

I was aware of the many address books. I periodically delete all those in collected addresses. When I said I deleted the bad address I meant that I checked every list. But, somehow, Tbird still had the bad address and kept regurgitating it. Apparently, when it sees a bad address, Tbird looks in the address lists for a similar one which works and substitutes it (without tell me). And, apparently, it has resources beyond the visible address lists. The reason I periodically delete the çollected addresses is because I don't want Tbird to remember addresses unless I instruct it to. I have found the collected addresses a nuisance -even dangerous. I suggest you add a feature enabling users to disable çollected addresses

The stuff about LDF files supports my impression that the address book function needs to be simplified. Why not have one, simple address list? A function to collect addresses beyond those the user chooses to add to his contacts may be useful to some but should be optional. As I said, this function, and other actions by Tbird in relation to storing addresses has/have caused me problems. I suppose what I am saying is that the default function should be to have one address list storing the contacts the user chooses to store and nothing else. Options to have more than one address list or to store every address which Tbird sees, should be just that - options which the user must opt in for. I'll bet that many/most users have experienced unexplained problems because Tbird has stored address which the user does not know about.

Many users actually ask for separate discrete address books, each associated with one particular account. They don't even like the amalgamated view presented by All Address Books. So a great many users would be annoyed by your proposed simplification.

You don't need to run a Collected Addresses book; the automated collection can be turned off. Tools|Options|Composition|Addressing

Than you have it pretty much as you ask for.

Thunderbird has no hidden resources for email addresses, and I have never seen it use any kind of approximation such as you describe. Are you sure the address book you removed the erroneous address from is still writable? Will it accept other changes?

You're not using a Mac are you? Thunderbird has had read-only access to the native Mac address book; I thought this had been fixed but I don't have a Mac to test it out on.

Tbird looks in the address lists for a similar one which works and substitutes it (without tell me). And, apparently, it has resources beyond the visible address lists.

Wrong. As stated before it gets all suggestions from one of your address books. You have two books by default. The personal and the collected.

Options to have more than one address list or to store every address which Tbird sees, should be just that - options which the user must opt in for.

You mean like going to Tools-Options-Composition-Addressing and unchecking Automatically Add Outgoing Email Addresses to:

All software is only as good as the effort the user puts into learning how to use it. http://en.flossmanuals.net/thunderbird/address-book-basics/

ken105 said

The stuff about LDF files supports my impression that the address book function needs to be simplified. Why not have one, simple address list?

Why mot have cars without air conditioning and heaters. Just because your needs are simple. Others have far more complex needs. Personally I don't use LDAP either.

A function to collect addresses beyond those the user chooses to add to his contacts may be useful to some but should be optional.

It is! On the toolbar > Options> Composition >Addressing

. I suppose what I am saying is that the default function should be to have one address list storing the contacts the user chooses to store and nothing else. Options to have more than one address list or to store every address which Tbird sees, should be just that - options which the user must opt in for. </blockquyote> Or perhaps you can customize your install to do what you want. That is opt out of features want.

I'll bet that many/most users have experienced unexplained problems because Tbird has stored address which the user does not know about.

The ability or inability of the user to use the software is how Microsoft made their money. Yet they still have folk complaining about how complex their programs are. THe bottom line is you have to learn how to use all software An understanding in a general way how of things work is also required, or like car owners you pay a lot of money to specialists that do..