[sixhobbits]

A way a lot of people deal with this is to have a compulsory email box but do very minimal validation. For beginner focused content, people who know they can put a fake email and don't want to be on your mailing list are not much of a loss. And if the content is good, they might still recommend to others who will join the mailing list.

[jazoom]

It's not good for deliverability to send emails to fake accounts. I wouldn't want fake email accounts in any list I was creating.

[sixhobbits]

Most software I've used has easy ways to remove failed addresses. The issue is people using "fake" addresses that belong to someone else. Must be a nightmare to use [e-mail] or similar.

[jazoom]

What "software" are you talking about?