I think the reaction to this is premature. Very typical of the internet though; receives a notice of an event happening, takes the worst possible "what-if" scenario and runs with it. Basically an entire thread of fear-mongering.

I'll reserve judgement as to what effect (if any, since I already run my game through Steam anyway) this change will have until they actually happen, and if the worst case scenario does happen and I can't reliably play, I'll just stop giving money to Steam/SE and play something else.

I'm pretty confused as to how people didn't realise they were locked to Steam versions though. It's pretty clearly documented. Maybe if it was received as a gift?

In any case, it seems that looking before you leap (or reading up about a game before pressing BUY in this case) is a lost practice.