Originally Posted by
pauq
Some airports in the Schengen area even have those e-gates for certain non-Schengen nationalities so lack of inbound stamps cannot be considered a problem.
Generally speaking, only EU/EEA nationals can use them, which makes sense because EU free movement rights and Schengen abolition of border controls are two different issues. An Irishman can use the e-gates in Brussels because it's impossible for him to "overstay" in a country where he has the right to live. Non-EU/EEA nationals generally can't use the gates. The only exception that comes to mind is the automated exit gates at AMS, but US, Canadian, etc. citizens get a stamp from an airport staffer after clearing the automated gate.
Originally Posted by
GUWonder
I am 100% certain that no definitive, wholly accurate electronic record of my entering and exiting the Schengen zone exists even for just my common carrier flights using only US passports within even just the past 12 months.
Whether or not my US passports should be stamped or not by Schengen passport control still varies a lot in practice. Some Schengen countries routinely skip stamping my US passports at Schengen passport control while other Schengen countries routinely stamp my US passports despite my presentation of the same international travel docs.
Article 11 of the
Schengen Borders Code requires signatory countries to stamp the passports of non-EU nationals: "The travel documents of third-country nationals shall be systematically stamped on entry and exit." If you don't have a residence permit, in theory you should always get a stamp. Not all countries follow the rules (ink costs money?), but most do because their border guards are the same people paging through your passport making sure you didn't overstay--and the database (SIS) functions mainly for authorities to flag violators, not to record entries and exits.
The OP will most likely be fine, but if s/he spends a lot of time in Europe, it wouldn't be a bad idea to hang onto an e-mail copy of the itinerary just in case "the man" gets the idea that s/he may have overstayed.