With merit system, the ranking system of the forum has been changed. For now, the ranking requirements include both activities and merit scores. Merits launched for two major objectives:
1. Controlling spammers and farming accounts.
2. Making the forum as commnity-driven one.
You should read this topic too.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2818350.0Great to know this, Ill get to reading that right now. cheers