diff --git a/content/en/docs/contributing/issues.md b/content/en/docs/contributing/issues.md
index 2bbd66985000..37442bd9d135 100644
--- a/content/en/docs/contributing/issues.md
+++ b/content/en/docs/contributing/issues.md
@@ -29,7 +29,8 @@ One of the best ways to help make OTel docs better is to fix an existing issue.
    <!-- prettier-ignore -->
    > **NOTE**: we **_do not_ assign issues** to those who
    > have not already made contributions to the [OpenTelemetry
-   > organization][org].
+   > organization][org], unless part of a mentorship or onboarding
+   > process.
    {.mt-3}
 
    <!-- prettier-ignore -->