We do a quick pre-rinse and always have...
mostly because it sits for 3 days on average before running a full machine.
After 15 years our KDC-17 porcelain looked liked new and the machine functioned perfectly, and that was on hard well water with no softener ever online and using Electro-Sol of the 70s/80s.
Sorry, but I'd like to question the idea that pre-rinsing damages a machine. It's a matter of Chemistry and BioChemistry, which I have an academic background in and have taught. There is nothing that food oils and greases (fats,lipids etc) would do to effect any resistance of damage to porcelain, which is silicon-glass, nickle-alloy stainless steel, or properly designed and formulated synthetic, typically styrene-butadiene, rubber seals. It's possible that very early true rubber seals, if indeed used, could have been minimally helped by lipid coating, an effect which would be highly ephemeral. Porcelain is not affected to any degree by any acid other than Hydrofluoric acid, not likely found in any domestic situation! AFAIK there is no experimental evidence of a protective chemical reaction or effect between lipids &c and any modern materials, nor evidence that detergents and/or surfactants at the strength used under any kind of typical water and heat conditions would effect any damage. Machine designers would certainly have considered these factors in design and selection of materials, and if not, were incompetent. I'd like to see any valid data supporting the assertion. Evidence of deterioration which may have been observed in the field would need to be subjected to properly designed experimental regimes in order to provide data that would confirm an actual cause and effect. No doubt manufactures have done this type of testing ad infinitum. IMO it's dubious that presence of lipids &c would be found to have an effect one way or the other on a properly operated and maintained machine.
Just my $.02.