Bitcoin Forum

I developed this formula a month ago but forgot to post it here. Its a rough guide for determining the potential chance that what somebody has to say is going to be interesting. Of course its not an absolute measurement of anything in particular, but I'm always on the lookout for members that have extremely high (or extremely low) scores. It doesn't apply so well to old, inactive accounts; especially those that stopped posting before the merit system was introduced.

Without further ado, here's the formula:

WoP = (Merit + 1) / Posts x Activity

Pretty simple, really.

Here's how mine would look currently:

nutildah = (1061 + 1) / 2980 x 1162 = 414

Obviously Legendaries are gonna have the highest scores, but the point is, if somebody has a score above 100, they're probably worth listening to, and if somebody has a score below 10, they're probably not. Future refinement of the formula would include dividing the score by the rank level (1=Newbie, 7=Legendary) to make things a bit more even.

I became fascinated when I saw one particular poster (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1645048) had 2600+ posts, zero merit and such a low activity. Now with the new merit requirements my fascination is reinvigorated: who can find a score lower than krizpogi18 (0.084)? If you find one I may very well issue you a merit for your work!

Here's a list I made about a month ago, so the scores have probably changed a bit since then, tried to include some of the biggest names in the forum for your reference:

theymos: 1292
ibminer: 1225
phantastisch: 1074
Flying Hellfish: 958
charleshoskinson: 833
Satoshi: 829
eduffield: 756
Gavin Andresen: 734
ProfMac: 715
Damelon: 628
GameKyuubi: 600
Cyrus: 575
genjix: 553
jgarzik: 481
OgNasty: 477
Gyrsur: 408
marcus_of_augustus: 402
mprep: 385
Hal: 368
Dabs: 340
Vitalik Buterin: 307
QuestionAuthority: 276
-ck: 272
Vod: 243
Vlad2Vlad: 167
smooth: 138
Quickseller: 134
TradeFortress: 127
hilariousandco: 110
philipma1957: 101
Gleb Gamow: 77.9
Amph: 67.4
spiderlee: 17.7
amanarora_1: 1.20
katerinaliisa: 0.24
leoliln45: 0.18
krizpogi18: 0.08

I tend not to use these ranking systems. I try to build my own ratings based on knowledge, area of interest, communication skills and fluidity of post content. For example, I would be more interested in a Bitcoin miner discussing the problems in Venezuela, even if he had minimal merits, than a high score member posting about bounties.

I'm considering making a list of topic stars to help me find posts.

I would be much more interested in scores base on earned merit and not total merit, removing the airdropped merit and thereby leveling the playing field.

Vod's BPIP also uses a formula for most recognized posters - on a similar theme, but is based on merit, activity and trust: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4799468.0

I wonder who is worse..a newbie with 2600 posts and zero merit or a legendary member with 28000 posts who has earned only one merit since the system was introduced.....

Maybe theymos will extend this 1 merit requirement to all ranks, so you can keep your rank but you're not allowed to have a signature unless you earn 1 merit from other members.

For some odd reason i get almost the exact same result with your formula.

morvillz7z = (175+ 1) / 184 x 182 = 174,08 

https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-517ca2cf80b4bf1cbeef0878074d1f99-c (https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-517ca2cf80b4bf1cbeef0878074d1f99-c)

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I'd say, they are equally bad.
Just recently, came across a legendary account with hundreds of posts (2013/14), consisting of only one/two or three words.

Anyway, we should be very careful what we wish/ask for, because recent developments and the following mess, i'm sure, has not achieved the prettiest results so far (referring to boards being swamped with merit beggars and advice givers).

I think , you should test the formula first in some random samples.


WoP = (Merit + 1) / Posts x Activity
        =(1002+1)/1997*1092  =548.46

By your formula,soniclord is more worthy poster than all of the below quoted.

I just add a bracket on your formula because it's confusing. Great idea though.
The Formula should be;
WoP = [(Merit + 1) / Posts] x Activity
 Remember MDAS?

This is what I posted in Vod's thread How recognized are you in the bitcointalk world? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4799468.0):
Vod changed the calculation to exclude airdropped Merit.

Then again, by multiplying Posts and Activity, you double count those too.

If this is what you're looking for, why don't you just divide Merit by Posts? Add one to give Newbies an unbiased chance, so:
WoP_2.0 = (Merit earned + 1) / Posts. That would give:
satoshi (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=3): 2.10
theymos (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=35): 0.33
LoyceV (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile): 0.17
soniclord (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=502516): 0.00

The drawback is that old posts may be good, but didn't get merited because they're old. Over time, this will become less important.

Best way might use the formula like  (Earned Merit+1)/ (Activity gathered after Jan 24 +1) but I guess it will be difficult to calculate the activity generated by user after Jan 24 due to concept of potential activity.

Concept of number of post created after Jan 24 will fix the calculation for everyone.

 (Earned Merit+1)/ (No. of post created after Jan 24 +1)

Sometimes I would say hello people stop spamming the forums. Other times I would say hey people it is just a forum, let's not exaggerate too much. Why so serious? :P

Oh... I was applying the wrong order in the operations and getting a <0. I should have read the post about the brackets first.

WoP = ((Merit + 1) / Posts) x Activity    

That´s much better, yet I am still not worth being listened to anyway  :'(

((30+1)/115)*115.

31 ? hmm.

((30+1)/116)*116.

~31 after this post.

I beat vod with 260!

Jet's 244 (Jet Cash)

WoP = [(Merit + 1) / Posts] x Activity

(648 / 3996) x 728 = 118

Here is the BPIP top 500 list.  (1,000 was too large for this forum)


theymos - 1435.62
ibminer - 1247.00
phantastisch - 1186.00
teramit - 1139.00
sapta - 1122.00
jstefanop - 1114.00
Paashaas - 1105.00
Micio - 1086.00
dbshck - 1083.02
Globb0 - 1082.00
vapourminer - 1071.00
NLNico - 1065.40
VonSpass - 1065.00
nopedope89 - 1060.00
youngwebs - 1056.00
yefi - 1054.32
mmm01 - 1054.00
arulbero - 1053.00
Shawshank - 1052.00
MemoryDealers - 1051.00
casinocoin - 1051.00
Lasergun - 1051.00
mistercashking - 1051.00
Xprim777 - 1046.00
maildir - 1044.00
ErisDiscordia - 1042.00
bitcoin revo - 1042.00
fronti - 1041.54
Dunkelheit667 - 1040.00
eneloop - 1040.00
bcmine - 1037.22
seuntjie - 1033.00
notsofast - 1031.00
UdjinM6 - 1029.00
brutale2 - 1029.00
Spidersbox - 1029.00
GGUL - 1028.00
bitebits - 1028.00
Chefin - 1027.00
SpAcEDeViL - 1026.00
AGD - 1026.00
doc12 - 1026.00
cAPSLOCK - 1024.30
casinobitco - 1024.00
pazor_true - 1024.00
yogi - 1022.00
NattyLiteCoin - 1022.00
pinkman12345 - 1022.00
lavajumper - 1022.00
TheStuhlman - 1021.00
LightRider - 1021.00
CryptoImperator - 1020.00
PoolMinor - 1020.00
infofront - 1019.93
wetsuit - 1019.00
foroplus - 1019.00
A-Bolt - 1019.00
aleix - 1019.00
not.you - 1018.00
ThomasV - 1018.00
sandy-is-fine - 1018.00
Cluster2k - 1018.00
hodlcoins - 1018.00
wosch76 - 1017.00
rb1205 - 1017.00
kenobius - 1016.00
BlueDragon747 - 1016.00
Trading - 1016.00
fairglu - 1016.00
otrkid70 - 1015.00
finist4x - 1015.00
monkeynuts - 1014.00
Adriano - 1014.00
nrd525 - 1013.00
shveicar - 1013.00
ghostlander - 1012.00
protokol - 1012.00
peteycamey - 1012.00
funkenstein - 1011.00
Rux - 1011.00
BG4 - 1011.00
c_lab - 1011.00
jeezy - 1011.00
punkrock - 1011.00
aigeezer - 1011.00
klintay - 1011.00
BitcoinFX - 1010.27
fragout - 1010.00
Wed - 1010.00
IGHOR - 1010.00
jiggytom - 1010.00
Michail1 - 1010.00
Unthinkingbit - 1009.00
fitraok09 - 1009.00
notaek - 1009.00
stingers - 1008.00
FiniteByDesign - 1008.00
silverfuture - 1008.00
domob - 1008.00
IncludeBeer - 1008.00
andme - 1008.00
Aswan - 1008.00
jimbobway - 1008.00
Anduck - 1007.00
Salmen - 1007.00
Conqueror - 1007.00
xcbtrader - 1007.00
rivoke - 1007.00
No_2 - 1007.00
SmokeTooMuch - 1007.00
SUPERANTONIO - 1007.00
martismartis - 1006.00
sawa - 1006.00
Hypolite - 1006.00
maikelblogo - 1006.00
Jookly - 1006.00
Morbid - 1006.00
EbonHawk - 1006.00
vancefox - 1006.00
keystroke - 1006.00
AmDD - 1006.00
mindtrip - 1006.00
IIOII - 1006.00
Qoheleth - 1006.00
elambert - 1006.00
mirny - 1006.00
leopard2 - 1006.00
alpet - 1006.00
elianite - 1005.00
coingamblingreviews - 1005.00
elux - 1005.00
Raize - 1005.00
TheLittleDuke - 1005.00
C10H15N - 1005.00
CosaNostra - 1005.00
Lyricz - 1005.00
raetsch - 1005.00
Seccour - 1005.00
naypalm - 1004.00
stevegee58 - 1004.00
Buratino - 1004.00
minorman - 1004.00
CryptoCanary - 1004.00
xyzzy099 - 1004.00
SgtMoth - 1004.00
TheTribesman - 1004.00
CoinDiver - 1004.00
Frogman - 1004.00
AzzAz - 1004.00
dvd-rw - 1004.00
BrainShutdown - 1004.00
UnDerDoG81 - 1004.00
monsanto - 1004.00
penoze - 1004.00
Jay_Pal - 1004.00
ak111in - 1004.00
Rent_a_Ray - 1004.00
Eliovp - 1004.00
Vin - 1004.00
mdtspain - 1004.00
fredeq - 1004.00
The Bitcoin Co-op - 1004.00
idev - 1003.00
seljo - 1003.00
smracer - 1003.00
Mapuo - 1003.00
noise23 - 1003.00
johny1976 - 1003.00
adamas - 1003.00
TracerX - 1003.00
in100 - 1003.00
SuperClam - 1003.00
DonQuijote - 1003.00
George5 - 1003.00
Kn_os - 1003.00
manrus - 1003.00
110110101 - 1003.00
ZACHM - 1003.00
iikun - 1003.00
MaoChao - 1003.00
nicehash - 1003.00
Relaxedsense - 1003.00
Mota - 1003.00
bitcasino.io - 1003.00
dozerz - 1003.00
l8orre - 1003.00
LiQio - 1003.00
mellon - 1003.00
MirkoIta - 1003.00
Xtc - 1003.00
milly6 - 1002.20
marcetin - 1002.06
skidog - 1002.00
visdude - 1002.00
rockethead - 1002.00
BldSwtTrs - 1002.00
snortex - 1002.00
abercrombie - 1002.00
Mad_Max - 1002.00
cesmak - 1002.00
Ilsk - 1002.00
hunterwolf - 1002.00
BioMike - 1002.00
generalt - 1002.00
maaku - 1002.00
Greglab - 1002.00
Glucose - 1002.00
o_solo_miner - 1002.00
Gronthaing - 1002.00
guwera - 1002.00
shahim - 1002.00
remotemass - 1002.00
leps - 1002.00
lyka - 1002.00
yogibaer - 1002.00
tonyq - 1002.00
anatolikostis - 1002.00
jtoomim - 1002.00
DanielBTC - 1002.00
jsmit332 - 1002.00
lestherat - 1002.00
fornit - 1002.00
abracadabra - 1002.00
pao_de_lo - 1002.00
JuanHungLo - 1002.00
The Frisian - 1002.00
Bitware - 1002.00
MoneroMooo - 1002.00
sturle - 1002.00
Beachguy - 1002.00
filharvey - 1002.00
Ejarwan - 1002.00
mitzie - 1002.00
Sunny King - 1002.00
GrinZ - 1002.00
FandangledGizmo - 1002.00
glub0x - 1002.00
Guido - 1002.00
lukyforvar - 1002.00
buysellbitcoin - 1002.00
Ente - 1002.00
BTCtrader71 - 1002.00
OneHash - 1002.00
penek - 1002.00
Mageant - 1002.00
scor2k - 1002.00
greentea - 1002.00
ofeefee - 1002.00
fast2fix - 1002.00
BitBitCoin - 1002.00
jadefalke - 1002.00
dashingriddler - 1002.00
CEX - 1002.00
troleyb?s - 1002.00
Alonzo Ewing - 1002.00
hoop - 1002.00
nikkus - 1002.00
avirdoz - 1002.00
wariner - 1002.00
rigel - 1002.00
HorseRider - 1002.00
ROBERTO - 1002.00
Vorksholk - 1002.00
tigerfree - 1001.00
BitcoinEXpress - 1001.00
DoomDumas - 1001.00
EPiSKiNG - 1001.00
gameristo - 1001.00
shitaifan2013 - 1001.00
natmccoy - 1001.00
mrbodz - 1001.00
pseudonymdude - 1001.00
restless - 1001.00
smaragda - 1001.00
portice - 1001.00
KrLos - 1001.00
CrowdWhale - 1001.00
Tirapon - 1001.00
ceti - 1001.00
Pizpie - 1001.00
gadman2 - 1001.00
WaterLooDown - 1001.00
agswinner - 1001.00
gnargnar - 1001.00
Danydee - 1001.00
Taxidermista - 1001.00
gusti - 1001.00
tobeaj2mer01 - 1001.00
Explodicle - 1001.00
FryguyUK - 1001.00
lame.duck - 1001.00
chris190 - 1001.00
varanvaran - 1001.00
JohnnyBTCSeed - 1001.00
Stealthcoin - 1001.00
bennana - 1001.00
z38630610 - 1001.00
hiddensphinx - 1001.00
BiTJack - 1001.00
Rollin.io - 1001.00
DiCE1904 - 1001.00
ejp - 1001.00
gimre - 1001.00
iamnotcool - 1001.00
SuperTramp - 1001.00
Wei H - 1001.00
jago25_98 - 1001.00
Micky25 - 1001.00
svojoe - 1001.00
jpoker272727 - 1001.00
LTEX - 1001.00
joele - 1001.00
pianist - 1001.00
TTBit - 1001.00
djnocide - 1001.00
c789 - 1001.00
the_poet - 1001.00
edonkey - 1001.00
xsentus - 1001.00
bluedeep - 1001.00
Adamlm - 1001.00
friedcat - 1001.00
snowdropfore - 1001.00
Videlicet - 1001.00
HeroC - 1001.00
Frangomel - 1001.00
asor - 1001.00
blg42598 - 1001.00
ballot - 1001.00
daybyter - 1001.00
donnyespo - 1001.00
Realpra - 1001.00
kalgecin - 1001.00
BRE - 1001.00
MiningBuddy - 1001.00
wknight - 1001.00
redbeans2012 - 1001.00
yohannc - 1001.00
Kazuldur - 1001.00
Dotto - 1001.00
kwukduck - 1001.00
Seal - 1001.00
OnkelPaul - 1001.00
Zubilica - 1001.00
grau - 1001.00
culexevilman - 1001.00
TheKoziTwo - 1001.00
Honest Tim - 1001.00
tkon3 - 1001.00
rebuilder - 1001.00
Cranky4u - 1001.00
cryptasm - 1001.00
super3 - 1001.00
Mjbmonetarymetals - 1001.00
chum_yum - 1001.00
jalmari - 1001.00
numismatist - 1001.00
Liquid71 - 1001.00
ontopicplease - 1001.00
Compa - 1001.00
cluit - 1001.00
First.Bitcoins - 1001.00
Varvarin - 1001.00
luigi1111 - 1001.00
akaBeaver - 1001.00
SolarSilver - 1001.00
desired_username - 1001.00
stan.distortion - 1001.00
Tyke - 1001.00
tiozes - 1001.00
ZyTReX - 1001.00
cokkapaga - 1001.00
Tinua - 1001.00
Mervyn_Pumpkinhead - 1001.00
lucazane - 1001.00
mtbitcoin - 1001.00
cryptmebro - 1001.00
CECVW - 1001.00
tabnloz - 1001.00
Lexis77 - 1001.00
Mobius - 1001.00
Hunyadi - 1001.00
BitcoinPappi - 1001.00
Meech - 1001.00
donk4u - 1001.00
zzaza - 1001.00
MissCrypto - 1001.00
Macno - 1001.00
YarkoL - 1001.00
Gyfts - 1001.00
sureshnsnet - 1001.00
CrazyGuy - 1001.00
pickupcoin - 1001.00
Joe_Bauers - 1001.00
mezmerizer9 - 1001.00
dasource - 1001.00
achimsmile - 1001.00
coolindark - 1001.00
dashminer - 1001.00
bitcoinvest - 1001.00
spiccioli - 1001.00
mistercoin - 1001.00
smartaction - 1001.00
Bimmerhead - 1001.00
hugabase - 1001.00
Praxis - 1001.00
chilly2k - 1001.00
valgfx - 1001.00
keewee - 1001.00
michelem - 1001.00
kingcrimson - 1001.00
CartmanSPC - 1001.00
chopstick - 1001.00
yakuza699 - 1001.00
opossum - 1001.00
Dutchyyy - 1001.00
maxll - 1001.00
redjedievolution - 1001.00
hashman - 1001.00
Samai - 1001.00
weex - 1001.00
merc84 - 1001.00
mirador17 - 1001.00
TheIrishman - 1001.00
erpbridge - 1001.00
Ivanhoe - 1001.00
FUBAR-BDHR - 1001.00
DigitalCurrencyConsultant - 1001.00
richiela - 1001.00
thundertoe - 1001.00
luv2drnkbr - 1001.00
Kanapka - 1001.00
glen123 - 1001.00
wtman - 1001.00
goldmaxx - 1001.00
Chalkbot - 1001.00
ohad - 1001.00
Eisenhower34 - 1001.00
Jan - 1001.00
tyrion70 - 1001.00
koin - 1001.00
chiguireitor - 1001.00
el_rlee - 1001.00
XCASH - 1001.00
blablahblah - 1001.00
M0ndialu - 1001.00
ltcnim - 1001.00
paulthetafy - 1001.00
Epoch - 1001.00
Antioxidant - 1001.00
chinchs - 1001.00
Bitcoinmeetups.org - 1001.00
pinger - 1001.00
Tammy Chan - 1001.00
starsoccer9 - 1001.00
knightlife999 - 1001.00
l3sny - 1001.00
eCoin.eu - 1001.00
Undermood - 1001.00
Jayjay04 - 1001.00
Reynaldo - 1001.00
l8nit3 - 1001.00
DGulari - 1001.00
_mr_e - 1001.00
elite3000 - 1001.00
Komonec - 1001.00
escalicha - 1001.00
coinking - 1001.00
somenick - 1001.00
Vagnavs - 1001.00
Souldream - 1001.00
jyaken - 1001.00
spiderbrain - 1001.00
helloge - 1001.00
johny08 - 1001.00
BAGOBO - 1001.00
bitfreak! - 1001.00
ataranlen - 1001.00
LiteBit - 1001.00
goose20 - 1001.00
Elokane - 1001.00
TKeenan - 1001.00
Timetwister - 1001.00
TippingPoint - 1001.00
xchrix - 1001.00
Kushedout - 1001.00
hashmaster1 - 1001.00
zby - 1001.00
FlensGold - 1001.00
50cent_rapper - 1001.00
Ivanech - 1001.00
egghead123 - 1001.00
Kupsi - 1001.00
clockuniverse - 1001.00
magaura - 1001.00
bclcjunkie - 1001.00
bitcool - 1001.00
farfiman - 1001.00
rlh - 1001.00
Enjorlas - 1001.00

Lowest I see is

Zaarin (https://bpip.org/profile.aspx?p=Zaarin)- 0.08474036214

3,139 posts. no merit

You need more decimal places in your number to see if I win.  :)

I'm also agreed with LoyceV because just see the WoP of following two users.

WoP of Zaarin (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1478018) = [(0+1)/3136]x266 = 0.0848

WoP of krizpogi18 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1645048) = [(0+1)/2662]x224 = 0.0841

So do you believe the Zaarin is worthy poster than krizpogi18 when comparing just two of them? I believe the answer is No. Zaarin was registered earlier than the other user and where he achieved more activity than krizpogi18. We cannot take the number of activity as a criterion when we calculating the WoP because the activity is the second barrier after merits for avoiding users to rank up just by gaining merits whether truly or abusive manner. If activity barrier isn't there users will ultimately rank up just gaining merits. What theymos has done is put the time factor into the equation when calculating the user rank which stopped the users getting rank up sometimes within one night (we all know merit is trading in the black market). That will give users also extra time for being active and being a responsible member.

In a nutshell, multiplying the activity when calculating the WoP would not yield a good figure for a comparison of users.


Post count of Zaarin (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1478018) is currently 3,136 but not 3,139

Even with the more decimal places, you didn't win Vod in this time :P

I think we don't want to consider the trust when calculating the WoP because trust is nothing to do with the worthiness of the poster. Having a higher trust score doesn't mean the poster is worthy or vice versa. Its ok for when calculating the recognition as done in BPIP

Fair enough. But the better forumla, as LoyceV has pointed out, would be (Earned merit + 1)/Number of posts. Including airdropped merit and then multiplying that by activity, when they are essentially counting the same thing, puts a massive skew in favor of anyone who was a legendary before the merit system was introduced regardless if they are a one-liner shitposter, as can be seen by the hundreds of members who work out at a score of 1001 (1000 airdropped merit, 0 earned merit, same number of activity and posts, all posts meaningless and simply fulfilling bounty requirements).

I always love new metrics. 

It would be trivial for me to display this on BPIP.   Once we decide on a proper formula.  :)

In which case, allow me suggest Earned merit x Number of underscores in username.

Point taken.  They have to be useful metrics.   :)

That kind of score system would also discourage people from spamming, since the most posts you have the lower your score gets! That sounds a fantastic formula nutildah! I hope it gets the attention it deserves and hopefully be implemented after a few tweaks.

As already mentioned, I also agree that counting the free merits is not fair, however if counting only the earned merits that'd create the opposite issue. The merit system was introduced on January, so people had about 9 months to earn merits. On the other hand the forums are operating for many years now, therefore some old members have thousands of posts and relative fewer merits, reducing their score because of that is also not fair.

I don't know if it's possible, but the best solution I could think of is if the score could take into consideration the postcount/activity/merit earned of the last 12 months.

Top 50 users:

o_e_l_e_o - 1860
DarkStar_ - 342
ui_zakharchenko - 219
d_eddie - 214
Alex_Sr - 207
LFC_Bitcoin - 192
marcus_of_augustus - 186
Joel_Jantsen - 183
Goran_ - 180
Wind_FURY - 169
spartak_t - 160
k_e_k - 158
mu_enrico - 156
ToTheMoon_XOM9IK - 154
Heisenberg_Hunter - 124
Raja_MBZ - 112
_X_X_X_ - 104
Early_Waffle - 100
Star_Bucks - 90
fairy_person - 90
q(O_O)p - 90
ethan_nx - 84
the_doctor - 81
Battlestar_Coin - 78
Daboy_Lyle - 76
yua_na - 75
af_newbie - 73
sell my ac_________nt - 72
Phil_S - 71
bct_ail - 68
cheddur_announce - 67
Juliya_D - 65
r_f_n - 62
irfan_pak10 - 60
BravO_o - 59
EWBF_ - 58
Klara_karlovna - 58
LTU_btc - 54
Silvio_Carlos_Junior - 54
crypto_zoidberg - 52
big_daddy - 52
gruve_p - 51
dr_ropata - 51
Jacky_Chan - 50
sp_ - 50
BFG_O - 50
_church - 50
blue_way - 50
Richard_1 - 48
MJK_Anfaenger - 46

Correct, but there is a large obstacle here. The number of post should be the number of posts from a certain date onwards for all users (Merit System kick-off for example). Otherwise, the ratio works backwards for the people who have been on the forum for a long time, since their current post count will be much higher that someone who started posting on or after the 24/01/2018. Unfortunately knowing the starting post count for all accounts is not feasible, since there is no public snapshot from that date (perhaps a backup that @vod may have could serve).

Alternatively, the average number of posts per day could be derived and used, replacing the total number of posts.

For example (roughly), a person with 1200 posts with a 500 day old account has an average of 2,4 posts per day. Let’s also say that the system has been going on for 9 months (simplifying, 270 days), and that in that period of time he has earned 100 sMerits, then his ratio would be:
100 / (2,4*270) = 0,1543 merits per averaged post.
This avoids needing a snapshot and instead uses a moving daily average (I´d prefer the snapshot though for precision). The only thing is that the ratio would be exact for newer accounts, and using a moving average for older accounts that starts farther back in time (posting habits may have varied).

Second place isn't bad when first place has four times as many underscores  :P

What about all the jacks?
I assume I'd be second (after JackJack) but maybe I'm being too modest ;D

@Darkstar_, o_e_i_e_o is in the lead by quite a lot there (merit wise).

@Vod, number of consanents in names times merits (just so oeieo doesn't get in on it)?

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a list of earnt merit/posts would actually be quite an interesting one to calculate (but only using posts since January - or whenever the merit system came out)...

I liked this one, because bias.
It is kind to me due to my lurking ways, relatively less posts..