Where to start with this clan... first off I will say that they have some very talented map makers and I generally really really like almost any map that has come from someone in their clan.  That's about all I have to say for good comments.

Back in the days before custom maps were prevalent on many servers the hedsteem™ server was the only regularly populated place to go to play anything other than the 5 or 6 VCTF maps that came with the game.  It took a really long time IMO before Epic and/or server admins really worked out all the bugs associated with running a server with custom maps.  Hmmm... I guess that's a good thing too.

The one thing I didn't like about their server was what they did to some of the weapons and some of the vehicles.  I quickly learned that they were not open to criticism of any kind regarding anything they did - not in the chat on their server at least.  I saw countless people get kicked and/or banned for the tiniest of negative comments about anything... so I never said shit about anything I didn't like about the maps or weapons on their server that I can recall.  As time went on and more servers started getting custom maps working properly I went to hedsteem™ less and less... because I didn't like the weapons a whole lot in general and I didn't like the way they banned every other person for the littlest things.  I remember being part of a conversation regarding map music once on their server... couldn't tell ya which hedsteem™ person it was, but someone had complained about the music on the map and they responded by saying the next map they made would have the most annoying music they could think of... I suggested Britney Spears or Spice Girls.  It seemed like a light-hearted conversation at the time but maybe I was wrong.

At some point rumors started propagating about their perceived greatness.  Claims were made that they had the attitude that they and they alone should or WOULD be given control over the Unreal Tournament game or series in some shape or form.  This made me laugh.  Napoleon complex?  Nah... Alexander the Great complex.

A lot of time passes... like a year or more maybe since I last played on the hedsteem™ server and one day something comes up about an Arena Of Death map remake getting pulled off of Epic's forums because hedsteem™ screamed copyright infringement or some such bullshit.  In the course of discussing this with others I find out that I've allegedly been banned from the hedsteem™ VCTF server.  ORLY?  Why?  Nobody knows.  At some point I went to their website and found that I had to re-register... so I did.  I waited for the confirmation email... waited... waited... a few days passed and I forgot about it.  At some point I did get the confirmation email but by the time I saw it it was too late and the link had expired.  I tried to re-register again.  A month later I still haven't gotten the confirmation email and I don't expect I ever will.

So what gives?  What did I do?  I am curious... and I know what I haven't done.
I haven't gone onto your server and started talking shit about your members.
I haven't gone onto your server and tried to get people to come to the dFb server instead.
I haven't gone onto your server and claimed that you stole something on the server that had been put up on websites for anyone and everyone to download.
I have witnessed hedsteem™ members do those things on the dFb server though... and that is the kind of shit that has always been a bannable offense no matter what the clan or game... it just depends on the attitude of any admin that happens to be around at the time or anytime if they're the type that enjoys going through the logs after the fact looking to ban people.

I honestly don't give a fuck that I've been banned from a server that I really hadn't played on in forever... I mean, I wasn't going there anyway so... I would still like to know why though and it's not like I can ask in your forums because I'm not even allowed to register there anymore.  From what I've seen someone there must be reviewing each and every request the site gets for someone to be able to sign up so they can read or post in the forums because with most sites the sign-up process is fairly automated and won't take more than a few minutes.

What does bother me is their fucking bullshit about their maps.  If you don't want people to use your fucking maps on their own servers then don't make them publicly available.  Hedsteem™ doesn't want to be a part of any UT3 community that they don't have full control over from what I can tell... which is fine.  If they want to believe that one day they will have full control over Epic regarding the game then so be it.  I'm not the type of person who goes around to small children telling them there's no such thing as santa.

Map making is tedious work... and I'm just too lazy and easily frustrated at this point in time to try and start remaking every hedsteem™ map from scratch just so I can tell them to fuck off in a better way.  Your maps are really good guys... but it's not like you did anything different than anyone else.  Your most popular maps (going by how often they get played or voted for on a server) are the simplest maps though.  Just a basic box with some other elements thrown in for variety.  Anyone halfway competent with the editor could remake those maps in less than a day... and I admit that I'm not competent enough with the editor to do that.

So read this post and talk some more shit about me behind my back.  If it makes you feel superior then so be it.  I honestly don't know which hedsteem™ person is a good or bad one so as far as I'm concerned their entire clan is full of fuckwits.

I've been banned from 2 servers in the 7 or 8 years that I've been playing Unreal Tournament games.  I at least know why I was banned from KAI... and that was bullshit because it was due to a known and well documented bug with a mod they had on the server and when I tried to talk to the guy about it he refused to speak to me.  So congratulations hedsteem™, you've made my fucktard list :)