There was no dedicated post for this and I found a lot of members distributing them like candies. This guide will help you understand the correct use of merits.
1) Don't be overgenerous especially on shitty postsExample: Some of the members had started giving 50 merits or so for a single thread response. Like this one:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2095908.msg28684426#msg28684426This is allowed as per the rules (one user can give 50 merits to another user in a month) but should not be encouraged. I think 1-5 merits is sufficient for a quality forum response. Similarly, for a quality thread, you can give 1-10 merits based on the uniqueness, effort put and benefit to users.
2) Giving merits to same person for a number of responses even if they are just repetition of what others are saying. This is a proof of the fact that you are abusing the system
Example:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=merit;u=1127307There is one exception here. These are the staff members or others who are really working hard to answer the queries of different users here. Those people can be counted on hands.
3) Testing the new featureI found some people blowing the merits performing tests. It is good that you are trying new feature to find out bugs or so. But most of these tests can be done with 1 point only. Also share the results in the official thread so that people do not blow up their merits for same test.
If you have something to add, post below.
