STEAM IS A BIG PILE OF URINE!
How about this scenario? Buy game. Install and play.
If you as a consumer want to be treated like shit that is your problem, but this authentication torture has prevented this consumer from purchasing any Valve/Steam releated material.
It was bad enough for the industry to train us like dogs to fetch each CD every time we wanted to play a game. What's next? Call them on the phone and beg them to play for a few minutes? What happens if the company no longer runs the authentication server? Can I not reinstall and play the game?
I will not be trained like a turd from this big pile of urine called Steam and the business practices of Valve.