It's sad that I received a PM stating that new member cannot get the code until they've been proven worthy. If you don't want to PM the code to new members, then don't PM them to insult them like that. I've always been a fan of Dave, not sure if the person that PM'ed was one of his staffs. Anyway, good luck with that attitude.
It came to pass due to the more than 17,000 dormant accounts from the one post wonders that only signed up to get the code (within a year's time), and pruning all of them was done by hand. So a very minimal amount of participation was decided to be added as a means of encouraging new members to participate further.
Also, the process of disseminating the code is done purely by volunteers, not paid staff or a bot.
Sorry you feel slighted because you didn't get immediate gratification, but the spirit of DIY involves a healthy dose of self-reliance (i.e. learn to do for yourself by searching first), and if you hit a wall, be patient for those that can help to do so. The members are a helpful bunch, but they'll be far less likely to do so if you demand they do so (i.e. behave as if it's owed to you).