In Reguards to Gremlin's Post..

[Adron]

People who hang out around here can find themselves a spot where they fit in without being members. And at that time, they're likely to pass a test if they ask, or eventually be invited if they never ask.

[iago]

People who hang out around here can find themselves a spot where they fit in without being members. And at that time, they're likely to pass a test if they ask, or eventually be invited if they never ask.

That's often the easiest way to get in, by making friends with members, just like you said.  Spht, Zakath, and to a lesser extent myself, ended up being good friends with many members before joining, which simplifies life.

[iago]

On a sidenote, "reguarding" Gremlin's post:

You have to be tested.  Consider the first test finding out what you have to do.

is an indirect reference to http://www.try2hack.nl/faq/:

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Where do I start the challenge?

Consider finding the start of the challenge level 0.

Which, sadly, nobody "got".  Oh well

[Skywing]

shit i think that kids think that if they can program in C++ or whatever they think they can join and its all gonna be programming this and programming that maybe if you made it more clear that vl isn't just programming it'd draw a different response from some people just a thought shit i remember i was gonna be tested on what   linux or unix?

The "About [vL]" page certainly doesn't say or imply that the clan is about programming; in fact, it makes it fairly clear that it's not about programming.

If you disagree with how we run our clan, you're more than welcome to start and run your own however you like.

P.S. using punctuation greatly increases the readability of posts.

[Arta]

From 'About [vL]':

The purpose of the clan is to provide for its members a single place to gather and talk. [...] Newbies, lamers, and their ilk are not only uninvited, but banned on sight. The clan provides and maintains a clan channel where all members can talk and have total control over visitors.

This sums up my reasons for visiting vL's channel (before I was a member) most succinctly. A great number of people make it obvious that they are unsuitable candidates for membership in the way they ask if they can join. The number of times I have seen a request that clearly shows no understanding of vL's purpose or aims is past counting. As many people have already stated, I have little patience for people who don't even read the site before asking if they can join. That said, I do agree that slamming newbies is pretty unpleasent. Where I can, I usually remove posts that are excessively flame-ish.