> details that could be captured automatically through web logs

You can't be serious. Are you ok? The entire point is that they're trying to tell bots and humans apart. They're trusting email (and how you write your email) as a good signal that you're human. What are you talking about getting it from the log? The point is to correlate. How do you expect them to know who you are in the log unless you give them that info?

> They created a problem

No, they're dealing with a problem, and compromised that some human users may unfortunately get blocked.

> and now users have to pay for the inconvenience

You don't have to anything. You can just not use them. They don't owe you their service.

Somebody is handing out free apple lollipops, they ran out, compromised on giving grape ones, and now you're complaining you're being forced to eat a grape one and you don't like grape. Don't eat it.