Why are people using regexp for email and other complex validation?

Question

There are a number of email regexp questions popping up here, and I\'m honestly baffled why people are using these insanely obtuse matching expressions rather than a very si

Answer 1

We're just looking for a fast way to see if the email address is valid so that we can warn the user they have made a mistake or prevent people from entering junk easily. Going off to the mail server and fingering it is slow and unreliable. The only real way to be sure is to get a confirmation email, but the problem is only to give a fast response to the user before the confirmation process takes place. That's why it's not so important to be strictly compliant. Anyway, it's a challenge and it's fun.