oops did not realise that being a newbie was such a bad thing

It's not that being a newbie is a bad thing. People with higher ranks can still talk to and discuss with newbies and Jr members without any discrimination. It's just that people can easily make a hundred of newbie accounts if they gave airdrops to newbies. You're missing the point here.
I agree with your statement 100%. If I was a token dev, I would also not accept newbies... too much a risk!