How do you know this? [people don't like using their email client]
Experience. LOTS AND LOTS OF REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE. The world of email clients was not always so wonderful.
Also, not everyone uses an email client. And not all use a client that can be a "default client." (MUTT, is a good example. Yes, there are ways to kludge this, but eww)
If you use a "throw away" that is NOT connected to the system you are on (usually browser based, but sometimes via virtual machine, or live cd); how do you sign up for the list? Copy and paste? Most people will not do that.
Actually, I prefer to send REAL email from my own email client.
Your personal preference is irrelevant. And just what would FAKE email be?
[companies blocking outgoing email] This does not make sense.
You must be joking, right?
Companies routinely block outgoing email. I know, I've done it at hundreds of companies. Only foolish companies DON'T block by default. BTW all external connections should be blocked by default.
Why would my own email service provider
block outgoing email? I've never seen this happen.
Why do you think GMAIL, and other email providers provide alternate ports for SMTP?
SPAM SPAM SPAM. It goes out on port 25. Guess what used to be the easiest way to send it? Compromised machines running (usually windows) at a home on a NON commercial internet connection.
ISP's don't want you running mail servers on their system, unless you are paying for a commercial internet connection. So they block port 25 for home users. Again it's common.
Sorry, but I disagree. [that it's easy to manipulate LISTSERV]
You are WRONG. Again, experience. LISTSERV was designed to be COMMAND driven via email. It was NEVER meant to be secure. Why? It was usually an internal tool.
We all loved being able to start up MUTT, send SUB email to LISTSERV XXX, and when we would be gone for awhile send a NOMAIL email to get off till we returned (the cool kids had scripts to do this). And then upon return, send a MAIL email , to restart. And if you wanted to see what you missed you could send INDEX, and get all sorts of good stuff, hopefully.
Those days are OVER, with rare exception.
The long-standing mailto: URL is very secure.
SMH what does that have to do with the server? And no it's not secure, why do you think so many sites, when they do use it, obfuscate it? (email scraping, fyi, which can be used to attack the server)
All it does is invoke your default email app, but does NOT auto-send
Where the did I say that it auto-sent?
IMO, the recipient gets all of the "tracking" info it needs when it received the email.
AGAIN, YOUR opinion is IRRELEVANT. The discussion is about why THE MAIL SERVER OWNER is using a particular method, and the reasoning behind it.
[bulk email services WON'T allow incoming email for signups.]
This is simply a matter of choice on the recipient's system.
It's about security, not preference.
LISTERV used to bombed regularly (Denial of Service). How do you do it? Send millions of request for signups for emails, that's the easiest; looping SUB/UNSUB/INDEX/NOMAIL/MAIL requests will bring down a server, too. Again REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE, before you ask.
BTW why do think sties have gone to CAPTCHAS? To stop this same thing from happening on the forms.
PROFESSIONAL mail services DO NOT EVER ALLOW EMAIL SIGN UP/OFF. It's just DUMB. (and if they do, RUN, don't walk to another provider, they'll be blacklisted for out of business son)
Professional sites have to keep their email from being SPAM boxed (or worse "slow rolled") due to bad emails, so they don't do incoming email signups BECAUSE IT'S EASY TO GAME THE MECHANISM.
Some private LISTSERVs do allow email sign on/off, but that's not the norm, anymore.