The thread referenced in "Here's a post everyone should read..." has the quote:
Chris Deeming: Will Steam be required to have an internet connection active when starting up a singleplayer game or a LAN game?
Gabe Newell: No, it won't.
There will be a brief transition (like two weeks) when it is necessary, but then it will go away. It's a temporary issue.
Fantastic! The guy didn't quote the e-mail headers like many who quote Valve e-mails, but I'm happy to believe it's true.
Maybe the 2 week delay is to help them with their Steam work. That's cool. Anything to help mush out the bugs.
This comment was edited on Sep 25, 19:49.