Is the reporting requirement a throwback to pre RNAV days where position fixes using NDB, VOR and DME were the only option and no one bothers now as the majority of aircraft have RNAV capability?
I suspect so, but the system is slowly creeping into the 21st century!
I always (well, nearly always!) plan via an IFR route with designated waypoints. More and more, in a radar environment, ATC give me big chunks of "direct to" tracking.
A couple of years ago I planned IFR Toowoomba direct to Townsville, no enroute reporting points - got the clearance, nothing said!
BC 