Pokerstars is easily the most trustworthy poker site. They have cardroom managers and marketing people who have been well known in the poker community for ten years or more, all of whom make a living to some degree off their reputations. To suggest they are doing anything deliberately questionable is absurd.
What they are not is affiliate focused. Party/Empire is four times as big but almost certainly less than twice as profitable. Party has also this week made two moves that will hurt them somewhat, stopping interest on deposits and declaring newsgroup spamming reason for closing affiliate accounts. The latter has reached epidemic proportions.
Pokerstars logos will be all over the ESPN broadcasts this summer. The Ladies World championship had five women at the final table in Pokerstars outfits including the winner. Party was mostly a no-show at the World Series because it was mostly a Pokerstars show, even if Classic Poker and Full Tilt Poker also were everywhere, and Prima had a good bit of exposure.
The point is, you would be foolish not to have Pokerstars on your sites this summer, even if you choose not to put them in the most prime positions.
The second point is, given the huge exposure they will be getting, the thing to do is contact them with comments on what they need to do to run/improve an affiliate program… not super-aggressive affiliate program, but one that meets basic needs. Both sides need to build a better partnership, and that takes both sides being proactive. Also, if anybody with experience wants a job, send them a proposal for some affiliate management job. Personally I think they could use a couple of people with CAP-type experience.