[gmerc]

That’s not a middle ground at all that offloads the cost of your growth to unrelated parties who are potentially being defrauded. Typical tech ploy.

[toast0]

Look, when option A is actually make sure your user gives you contact info that works, option B is include a link that stops sending garbage for a user that doesn't know their email address, and option C is signing up with an email address results in an unending stream of garbage...

I would prefer option A, but I'll accept option B, because it's better than option C.