This is missing the point. This topic is not about whether we should use Steam as users.If you don't like Steam, don't use Steam. It's as simple as that.
Its about whether we, as a community, endorse a platform such as Steam.
Also, I doubt few players are even aware of all the scary anti-features and their impact, so few of them actually make an informed decision.
And frankly, I think saying “If you don't like it, don't use it” is completely missing the point here. This implies that this is really just about my personal dislike and that the problems don't really matter enough for anybody else. As if I would just imagine that Steam has malicious features like scanning your entire RAM. So, frankly, I disagree completely.
I don't have anything against the idea of Steam. But I do have something against its execution. Frankly, I think nobody should be forced to “buy” convenience with e.g. having their entire computer scanned. This is just crazy. How this can be acceptable to anybody is a mystery to me.
And as I stated multiple times already, Minetest does NOT have to be popular. Minetest can continue just fine without being on Steam. We CAN afford not being on Steam.
But if popularity IS your goal: I think if Minetest becomes something truly great, it might even become very popular on its own, even without Steam. Simply when people start talking about it. It's not as if Steam is the only way to make Minetest known.