Recently there has been a lot of applications to Suspect Zero in which the applicant was claiming to be a new player. There have also been a lot of badly written applications which have questions skipped. I suspect several other crews suffer from this issue so I thought it would be a good idea to discuss this for both new players and old players who don't write pertictularly good applications!
First of all the question must be asked: Why do I need to fill in an application form to join a crew? The most obvious answer is that it is for a crew's safety. It gives the crew a little bit of information about perspective members and allows the bosses to share applications with all players so that the crew can be a democracy. However, it is not a way of saying "we do not want you in this crew so we will give you a long application form to bore you."
One of the most common questions is "do you have anyone that will vouch for you in the crew?" The usual answer to this question is no. If you are a new player this game can be intimidating at first. There are all these crews and players who know each other. But how hard is it to investigate a crew, join a few organized crimes with a member, chat to that member and then turn the conversation to the crew? Nine times out of ten they will discover you are new and will help you out, explaining the process and helping you gain entrance by telling their crew mates that you are new and they have helped you.
The same process applies to old players of the game. It isn't hard to make friends here if you just message people and talk to them. If you want to join a crew and you are a known player you aren't going to be automatically rejected! Just talk to people in the crew and be honest. People can often see through applicants who are insiders or underground shooters, so why make yourself look like one by applying for a crew out of the blue?
But the biggest piece of advice I can give is to be honest and use the best possible English in applications. Players like people who put time and effort into an application and are more likely to say yes as it shows you care and are a dedicated player. Another option is to ask one of the Buzz players, who for the most part will keep your information confidential as we receive private messages all the time, to spell check your application. We write a lot of articles and, even though our English isn't always perfect, we can still help you out if it's needed!
Writing an application doesn't need to be a scary or complicated process as long as you are honest. But players who have been a member of the game for three days whilst having five hundred thousand dollars and have ranked to Boss level already are not new players. Maybe you have a friend that brought you in and helped you but if that was the case you would apply for their crew. Anyone can look at that small piece of information and work out that you are not a new player so why lie? Just explain who you were previously, why you have decided to start afresh/gone underground and you have a better chance of being accepted by the new crew.
So to summarize, be honest. Be yourself. Don't hide information as crews can tell when you have hidden something or lied about who you are. Check your applications carefully for spelling and grammar, asking someone you can trust to check it out for you first if you have any doubt. Also, don't forget to talk to people in the crew beforehand so they actually know you when you apply. As always, good luck and happy ranking!
