Is a reply really necessary. Granted, when a reply does come through (even if negative), it feels good that you've been noticed.
I'm not sure how the hiring culture has changed recently, but I remember around 8-10 years back, I'd send my resume to many companies. No reply, means they are not interested.
I don't have a problem with them not being interested, just like when dating :-)
But since I am applying to places I only really care about, I'd like to know when I'm not a good fit (so I can improve in the meantime), but mostly because so much tech stuff can go wrong (db died, email got marked as spam, their reply got lost somewhere, etc).
I'm not sure how the hiring culture has changed recently, but I remember around 8-10 years back, I'd send my resume to many companies. No reply, means they are not interested.
Same with dating :)