It's good, then, that I never really understood the fascination about blondes.

that's untrue at it's best, only games using steamworks or the source engine needs the client, i have a lot of games i can run simply clicking on their exe.
It's still anywhere comparable to GOG, but bashing it down saying "omg it's full of DRMs" is a lie, it's the biggest digital distribution service around and a great community too.
The need to switch to the offline mode while being online makes no sense but you can just do it every time you disconnect, in this way you can always play the games, online or offline that is. It's silly but saying that's impossible to play offline is a stupid lie, almost all the games works just clicking on the exe and the ones that doesn't you can still play them offline just remembering to switch to the offline mode before closing your client.
You can even install steam on a pc without a stable connection, download some games from your account, set it to offline mode and here is it: you can play all the games offline forever.
Also: you CAN run games purchased through steam without being logged. Only few games requires the client because they use steamworks, and that one is a service the developers\publishers decide or not to use to protect the game or to use online functionalities (achievements and such), it's not something Valve puts on every game by default

Nor I really, just the first thing I thought of.

There's no point in trying to tell me it's untrue when I've tested it myself. I have found even single player indie games need the client to run. There doesn't seem to be any logical reason for that beyond their using the client for protection.
You don't have every game on Steam and you certainly haven't tested them all. If you had anything to back up your claims it would only make them more interesting. Not true. But more interesting.
GOG actually make sure their games work on all modern Windows OS before releasing them. Steam left a game up for sale for over two months that didn't work on anyone's system. Steam have quite a way to go before they're up to GOG's level, and they've had many more years to achieve that standard too.
I'm not saying it's full of DRM. I actually find it preferable to disc checking and certainly preferable to activation limits and the more malicious and useless DRM out there.
Furthermore, Steam lists various third party DRM on the games' pages. So I don't know how you can deny it's 'full of DRM' when it is actually more open and honest about DRM than most digital distribution services or even retail outlets, for that matter.
Again, you're trying to tell me something different to what I've personally experienced. Calling it a stupid lie is just infantile and reeks of fanboyism. Admittedly, games that have needlessly required online mode in the past have since been amended to work in offline mode.
But given that offline mode is such a tertiary consideration for Steam, it's never going to have a perfect track record. If offline mode was more important to me, I certainly wouldn't buy any games released on Steam for a good 6 months or so.

nope, you're wrong!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEEUtdhV_eA
and before you ask, I TOOK THIS VIDEO MYSELF.

ok, this is weird, 2 games showed up on my list that I didn't buy, or receive a gift of, they just appeared.

Maybe you're more influential than you realized and they're bribing you to stay.

they gave me Nikopol and Crash time II. Nikopol has a worse metacritic rating that AA3.
It seems more like they're just trying to fill my account up with shit.

So perhaps it's revenge instead?

Yeah I've been wary of crap like this for a while. It seems like many fully legit consumers get occasionally banned from Steam for BS reasons, and when they try to reason with Valve employees they are either ignored, or they're met with a condescending attitude. That said, sometimes they do have good deals that you can't find anywhere else, like Braid for 5$ which I just got. However I sure won't pay for any game amounting to a significant sum of money anymore.
I can't wait until consumer watchdog groups begin to pay a bit more atttention to digital distribution services. There's simply no way that services like Steam will be able to get away with only selling "licenses" forever and preventing consumers from accessing the games they paid for. At some point a consumer will face an horror story, complain to the media, generate a lot of attention, then the government will step in and force their hand.
I just pre-ordered both Alpha Protocol and Red Faction Guerilla from Gamersgate because of this thread. Thanks for the reminder guys!

You're insane. Steam users have been having horrors forced upon them since day one (well, not beta day one). The only reason why they don't speak out to the government and report this to the FTC and all that is because... what can they do? They don't care. They're way too busy finding excuses to fine Wal Mart and to find out what is up with that pasta bread bowl from Domino's.

I watched the movie that Nikopol was based on (Immortal?). It was OK. The game looks somewhat compelling, but then I played Iron Man for a hundred bucks.

TAXES

Oh yes, taxes. Remember how big the gaming industry is. I'm buying so many games now, and for each and every one of them, both governments of Quebec and Canada don't get a red cent out of all these purchases.
They've already organized themselves to get tax dues from PSN and XBLA sales. How long before Steam and Direct2Drive are hit with this? Granted it might be harder since these companies don't have Canadian subdivisions, at least not directly, but they're not going to stand idly while millions and millions of dollars flee past them. That element alone is going to make governments pay much more attention to how consumer spend their money on the Internet, and if they're allowed to enjoy the goods that they paid for unconditionally.
Also, don't underestimate people's ability to complain. At some point someone will get pissed off an outlet like NBC or the New York Time is going to cover it and it will bring this to the attention of consumer watchdog groups and put Valve in a bad light.

Jewel cases, having to log in, could your arguments be any more 2006?