nadenitza: True. You can buy the game from steam and use a crack from pirate bay to kill the need to use the client - drm problem solved :P
Steam probably even facilitates the hackers couse they just mess with the api.dll, don't even have to touch the executable...
Kick-aha: That is ethical correct but sadly still against law. I don't want to argue about it, but this thread should be a place where you share information about games that don't require any cracks for people who don't like downloading illegal stuff.
Emob78: I've been offering my 'thoughtful contributions' about Steam for years now. Always falls on deaf ears. Figured short, sarcastic remarks might do for a change of pace.
Got a faster reply from you with one snotty sentence than 5 years worth of concise, logical arguments. Sadly, it's easier to get someone's attention by smacking them than politely tapping them on the shoulder.
Kick-aha: Don't judge us :). I would have reacted the same way as Wafflecones, btw.
I don't know where you tried to offer your contributions and if people always ignored you but if you are interested, people really like to talk in this thread about Steam and it's DRM (except the occasional guys damning/ignoring Steam or copyright in general). Just don't start a debate whether this list is useful or not 'cause you could get it with a simple crack from the interwebs ;). Oh, and it's hard to differ between real sarcasm and trolling these days on the web, just keep in mind.
Oh, I'm no troll. I'm mature enough to admit that my side has lost the debate. If we anti-Steam crusaders had been more effective in our arguments, then perhaps Steam would not now be controlling 80% of PC game distribution.
I've warned gamers about the risks that Steam presents. Hacking, spying, network dependence, forceful auto patching, invasive and questionable privacy policies... etc etc etc... and few listened. A few more years and Steam will BE PC gaming. But I'm a free marketer, if that's what the customers want, then that's what they'll get.
But when the day comes and Steam drastically alters their file structure so that old games no longer work, when they abandon PC gaming altogether in exchange for their new pretty console, when their network collapses in some global hacking event, then millions of gamers will cry out in terror... and the cautionary tale will have played itself out yet again. But in the meantime, enjoy your Steam sales, buddy lists, and easy access online game shop.
I don't have a problem with Steam existing as a PC game distributor, I just don't want it to become the only PC game distributor. And that's why I'm here at GOG. Helping fight the good fight.