Design Team Application : No, we can't make an exception!

Here's my reply to quite a typical message concerning the Design Team application process. I post it here without any names mentioned:
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To make a long story short, I will simply reply - no it is not possible. We are serious about our rules and we don't make exceptions. Please, do not try to submit your design to the contest. You will not get paid in any case, the only thing you can achieve is a permanent ban. So I really advise you to forget about this particular contest and follow the guidelines for the Design Team application. This way you will at lease be able to participate in our contests in the future.

Best regards,
Sergey aka resurepus

Hello resurepus!

I found your site about 2 days ago and got really interested about the contest that were running right now, so i looked around and found a contest i´d like to join as a designer. I read all the submissions there, and figured i´d try and make a Logo for that company. When i got done doing just that, i wanted to post my design on the forum but noticed i needed to be in the "design-team". Well, i tried to join but i saw that i need atleast 10 forum posts, seven days membership on the forums etc. etc.. So there i am, i´ve got a finished artwork i´d like to submit but can´t since i can´t yet join the design team.

So im asking you, if its possible to let me enter the Design-team without meeting all the requirements. I would love to continiuosly work on designcontest.com in the future and would appreciate it if you could do that. There is another contest i would like to join, wich has a deadline of Nov. 26th. Its impossible for me to take the opportunity to win this one because i have to wait 7 days until i can register.

Thank you in advance

Thanks for the heads up ! I agree with you entirely it just wouldn't be fair to everyone else. Just apply and don't be greedy and actually give something towards the community.

Thanks for that post - it really helped answer some questions! Guess I should have applied weeks ago when I was visiting so much to learn from other designers. You've got a great team here and I'm looking forward to being a member!

Thanks for that post - it really helped answer some questions! Guess I should have applied weeks ago when I was visiting so much to learn from other designers. You've got a great team here and I'm looking forward to being a member!

Hope my message will actually help new members not to make the same mistakes

So i'm new to all of this and I REALLY want to be a design team member... because there are several contests I want to enter designs into... with the deadline nearing does it usually take 30 days to get the application reviewed

oh... and what is the general time frame if it is shorter than 30 days?

Thanks

jonesvc, thank you for your enthusiasm. We are glad that you have such an interest in the contests. However, eyeing contests while waiting to be accepted onto the team is not a good idea. I'm sure many people could vouch for that.

You must be a member of our forums for at least a week to be eligible for the Design Team. It will generally take a couple of days to a week for your portfolio to be reviewed. If you pass the portfolio review process, then there is also a poll held on the forums where users vote on how much you have contributed to the forums thus far. If you do not pass this vote, then you do not make it onto the team.

My suggestion would be to concentrate more on the voting process and portfolio assessment than any contest you may see. We never run out of contests, you see. So if you're talented, community-minded, and patient you will no doubt get a chance to compete