The real problem here is the fact that active listeners are still a problem to begin with.
It'd be absolutely insane if a native app did not get first crack at all input events. This is how they all work (iOS, Android, Windows - take your pick), and the mere existence of a touch/scroll listener is never a problem.
But on the web simply having a scroll listener is such a massive performance issue that it's worth introducing not just a new API to get events after they've happened, but to then make that the default? Why not just fix the performance problem instead of hacking and slashing around it?
It'd be absolutely insane if a native app did not get first crack at all input events. This is how they all work (iOS, Android, Windows - take your pick), and the mere existence of a touch/scroll listener is never a problem.
But on the web simply having a scroll listener is such a massive performance issue that it's worth introducing not just a new API to get events after they've happened, but to then make that the default? Why not just fix the performance problem instead of hacking and slashing around it?