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This is typically so you can't simply subscribe someone else using their email. The 'victim' would only get a single email and they'd have to subscribe to keep receiving them. It also avoids typos etc.

I had the impression that you chose a standard you care about and it is going to send exactly one email. With confirmation, that would become two.

http://www.lsoft.com/resources/optinlaws.asp

> ...why?

So that if somebody mis-types their address and ends up entering mine, I don't get bombarded with crap that I don't want. It's incredibly annoying when this happens.

This service sends one email. Confirmation would just mean you get bombarded with the exact same number of unwanted messages: 1.

Confirmation would still be useful, though, to let the actual user realize they entered the wrong address.

It sounds as though it actually sends you multiple emails