Well, stores in general aren't DRM. That's not part of the definition. They can supply DRM-free content or not, depending on the store, but the store by itself isn't DRM. Itunes has DRM-free conent, Steam has DRM-free content.

Multiplayer-only games don't necessarily have DRM. Unreal Tournament games for example could easily be installed on any number of computers from a single disc and played over a LAN.

I wouldn't really say that an MMO has DRM. It's the nature of the game to be played online. There is no way to decouple it from the servers.

Windows OS's, yes, they started including DRM (authentication) from a certain point.

I see.

Depends on the game, I believe.
A certain point in time, rather.

Sorry but I don't have a Star Wars reference for that.

Ummmm, SW reference, time, let's see......

-But Master Yoda teaches us to be mindful of the future.
-Yes, but never at the expense of the present.

Does that work?

It depends if the present is DRM free or not.

This is the common definition

DRM: Anything I dislike has DRM.

This is why you get people claiming Steam is DRM-free and GOG is DRM.

You don't want to get me started here. I can do this all day. :P

I have nothing against being amused.

It's accepted that in order to buy something online, you have o log into something. My definition consider that DRM. Again, I don't think all DRM are bad, it is most of the time security measures (security for the developper/seller, security for the customer). In a nutshell, when donating money or buying things on the web, a login is (under my definition) a DRM mechanism. A login is a bit like showing an id before buying something IRL.
If I consider your example where you buy a book online, you could pick a book on a website and then checkout and fill your information in a secured manner without having an account, it is just not a common practice (if it is even allowed/done at all).

Then I agree with the rest of your post :)

In most cases, yes, but it doesn't have to be a neccessity for the act of purchasing.

Case in point: Humble. You could pay direclty with credit card and get the code to your e-mail address. No account created, no login done (unless you count the e-mail account, and, if applicable to you, any security measure for online purchases set up by the credit card company). Regardless, there's no account whatsoever set up to access the product.

Some people have already stated the truth about DRM in this thread... it's all very subjective. Like people failing to understand that online multiplayer, like achievements, high scores, or any other online service is just that an optional service.

Because they fail to understand that, they label GOG not 100% DRM free....even though it is. As long as you can download your games, install them without restrictions and effectively play single player indefinitely then the game is DRM free.

Um no, not it's not. Only the software that you purchase can have DRM. DRM is a term specific to software. GOG is a service that is providing the service of buying games. It's not DRM to require a log in to a service.

Do you know of any RL store where kids can buy DRM-free liquor then? ;)

On a more serious note, what does Amazon's customer identification when purchasing paperbacks have to do with "digital rights" management? They may appear similar, but they're not the same. If anything, you could say both DRM and customer identification are security measures, and in some cases they coincide, but all customer identification is not automatically "digital rights management".

There's DRM and its strict definition, and then there's some form of protection, client dependencies, or some other dependency or control taken away from the user that is included under DRM when mentioned by members here at GOG. GOG staff have historically used a broad definition too.

You can break it down probably into about half a dozen categories where control is taken away or the user is hindered in some fashion. You can go through the hassle of copy and pasting those categories every time you wish to convey something, or you can just call it all DRM.

That covers most of it.