LOL. I had actually forgotten about that bearcat episode! You're right...classic. :)

That would be because DRM is usually associated with more draconian measures than simple serials or disc checks - those are very very "light" types of DRM. Usually, people associate DRM with limited activations, copy protection (not the same as a disc-check), limitation to certain hardware, etc. I personally don't mind disc checks since there's plenty of no-CD/DVD cracks around for older games. I DO mind serials though if they're tied to a single account because this prevents second hand sale and also you run the risk of forgetting what account you linked it to.

The worst thing about starforce is, due to its nature it is impossible to ever PROVE that something has been caused by it... even when it obviously has. They have the perfect legal loophole of a shield...
but to suggest that GOG.com would use the worst copy protection of all is worse then just being ignorant, its almost blasphemous!
GOG.com is great, as it allows for once starforce plauged games to be played free of all hassles, worries and risks. Even if it ISNT starforce causing problems, why take the risk when there is a perfect DRM free alternitive like GOG out there?

By that same token, the worst thing for Starforce is that it is impossible for them to ever PROVE that they aren't the cause of these problems.
Don't get me wrong, I hated Starforce and skipped out on games because of it (I don't want that garbage on my rig). But I also feel that it got a really bad rap because the warezers didn't like it.
I figure, unless you yourself actually had problems that you are 99% certain were Starforce (and not just "it was probably Starforce"), you don't get to blame it for problems. That is how rumors start :p

I'm 100% sure Starforce bricked a pair of my CD drives. They will claim otherwise, but when I can tie the failure of the drives directly to the installation and initial running of a Starforce protected game, that's just too much of a coincidence.

are you kidding me? the crackers dont care at all. Starforce is just as easily cracked as any other game. In fact, when I bought scrapland and didnt realise it had it on, I downloaded a crack right away to get rid of starfuck from it. All good starforce games have been as easily cracked as any other, the only ones that havent been are the ones that are so bad it isnt worth cracking em lol

Ignoring the fact that most cracking groups are egomaniacs who want to have their name on almost everything, there WAS a time when Starforce was very hard to crack.
That is why people learned the non-software-based method of bypasing Starforce (that I don't feel the need to repeat here). But that excluded a large portion of the warezers who didn't want to do the non-software-based method.
Furthermore, there are still versions of Starforce that haven't been cracked, and likely never will be. Maybe it is because the Scene Groups don't feel the need to stroke their e-penises by doing something they can accuse the other groups of not being able to do, maybe it is because they don't care, maybe it is because they can't. I don't know, but I would bet money on it not being the first option :p
But, you will notice that I mentioned "warezers" not "crakers'. As in the users who pirate the games, not the groups. They are the ones who whined, because the crackers couldn't do it for a while.
Because, as I said, it got a bad rap because of the warezers. Don't get me wrong, I fully believe that Starforce could potentially cause problems (and, people in this very thread claim it did. I can't confirm or deny their statements, largely because I don't know how they verified it, but whatever), but I doubt it caused half the problems people attributed to it.
Let's make an example:
Person A has a genuine problem caused by an incompatibility between the Starforce driver and their drive. What that problem is, I don't care.
Person B thinks they have a problem, but it was actually just a virus from using a fake crack.
Person C is an idiot who managed to screw up the non-software-based method.
Person D doesn't have a problem, but is annoyed that they are being forced to pay for The Two Thrones (great game).
All four people complain. Can you see how people might think all four people had the same problem as A? Then
Person E has a problem and attributes it to Starforce, when it is really something else (quite possibly, the topic creator falls into this category).
Person F starts calling it a "rootkit".
Persons G through ZZA "know someone" who had a problem with "the Starforce virus".
Can you see how this could happen? 'Cause it did :p.
Starforce was probably the most effective DRM, from an anti-piracy standpoint. But the problem was that it had some genuine problems, used a driver-based approach far too soon, and got MASSIVE amounts of negative rep. So it likely began to impact reputations and sales for the companies.
Hell, look at yourself. You feel the need to refer to it by a "clever' yet rather crass name. Bad publicity affects our perceptions, which continues to feed the bad publicity. Sort of like the people who insist on saying "M$ Windoze", even though Mac is getting just as "bad" (if not moreso).

Starforce, to me, demonstrates why DRM as a solution will never really work (even if it does work in a technical sense - not that I'm suggestion SF was a perfect solution). If the pirates can't beat it, then they'll launch a FUD campaign until no-one wants to use it.