I really hate asking for this, but I think I'm one of those 'inbetweeners" that got hosed by the new merit system. It was my last week before I had to get a Full Member, but it was not so, because the merits came here... After reading a bit about, I understand why the merit system exists, but now I have to generate 90+ merit to get a new status.
You are not what I would qualify as someone who got
hosed by the new merit system ... You have an activity of 28 and your rank is Newbie so the next step for you would be to reach an activity of 30 and obtain the rank of Jr. Member (no Merit is required for that). Activity-wise you are still far from Member (let alone Full Member). It seems like you have misunderstood something, or maybe you are talking about another account you have?