resources I could use elsewhere. I generally shut down all unnessesary applications, including firewall/virus protections (so no internet while playing, I don't need it then anyway) when playing games that require lot of resources to squeese every bit of performance I can get.
Steam does not provide any feature for single player offline gamer so why would I ever want it in my computer in the first place. I never play multiplayer, haven't been playing for years (funny thing is, I think the last serious multiplayer sessions were on Half-Life/CounterStike. Another funny fact: Half-Life anthology was last game I ever bought from Valve).
DRM by it's very nature is intrusive, it very purpose is to restrict how I use the games I buy. Thankfully I can usually crack the games with all the problems it entails, but meh, as long as I can play the game the way I want I'm happy (And before you call me pirate, I own ~200 retail games and around 50 games from DD services, mostly from GOG. It's up to me what I do with them as long as I don't distribute copies of them.).
Fortunately thanks to GOG.com, where I buy most of my games these days, I don't have to do that much anymore. Gamersgate is another DD service I use but mostly to buy Paradox's own games. Thankfully there is pretty widely known workaround allowing users to make fully functional non internet requiring backups of their games but unfortunatlely as far as I've heard it does not work on all 3rd party games there.
You do know that it gathers your system infomation = spyware. I do not know if you can opt out of it (if you can, it should be off by default) but it should not need to gather any data, period. If someone needs information of my system (or anything else for that matter), it's my choise wether or not I provide them. Only police has right to monitor my activities without my knowledge and even they need to suspect me of serious crime and get court permission in order to do it.
And you are the only one entiled to have opinion? Bear in mind that I and most others pissed by Firaxis decision to use steamworks would not mind if installing it was optional or we if could buy the game from retail or DD service of our choise without having to install Steam. One vendor/system/DD service exlusive games should not exist in this day and age anyway.
But anyway, I'll vote with my wallet and skip it. It's a shame as I've bought, played and loved all Civ games and most of spin-offs since Civ 1 came out (Civ I - IV with all expansions (even the test of time thingie), Colonization, Civ IV:Col, Alpha Centauri (no expansion unfortunately), CTP 1&2, MoO 1-3, Galciv 1-2 with all expansions and Master of Magic.)
I laugh at people like this who know absolutely nothing about Steam. You'd think they'd take 5 minutes to look up actually what Steam does. 
no worries. I do excactly same when steam fanboys do the same with other DD services. For some reason they don't take the 5 minutes to look at the other DD servises either 
If you can tell me that I promise I'll try Steam. Agreed? 
