Serious issue with the merit system

[guschin]

People are misusing the merit system in number of ways and it is good that some are getting caught as well. But there is one way which will be hard to detect:

Suppose a new member gets 5-10 merit points for some of his posts in total. Now he gives these points to a enemy here for a short post. This may raise suspicion among the senior members and both members may be given negative trust. Isn't is unjustified for the later member ? How is the staff going to tackle this ? 

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[Lauda]

All you had to do is read some content before opening another thread.

So what are you proposing that be done against shady behavior regarding the merit system? Nothing? Or are you simply saying that *we could/should* tag them, but that some of the tag's by actmyname were unwarranted?

I think that tagging may be appropriate in particularly obvious cases, or particularly egregious cases involving hundreds of merit points and several posts. But generally you should start out by assuming good faith, and only change that opinion as the evidence really piles up. Tagging someone immediately after an instance of apparently-inexplicable meriting is too trigger-happy IMO. Even if it is a case of illegitimate merit, even hundreds of illegitimate merit points are not much of a problem IMO, so you have to ask whether it's worthwhile to possibly make a mistake by tagging someone who is merely suspicious.

Alright. So it is clear that we should tag people similarly how we tag people for trust abuse (e.g. leaving positive trust to your own alt). I do think that hundreds of merit points are quite a big problem, in fact. Sure, the fool will likely end up with nothing eventually. However(!), hundreds of points being spent on your own army of shitposting accounts can have a significant impact (multiplied by the number of people doing it) for quite some time (until they run out/get caught).

Now, I'm not 100% sure that actmyname's ratings are outside of what I would consider appropriate, which is why I didn't take action to immediately remove him. But from what I've seen, it does seem likely that he is too trigger-happy.

It's probably due to him being a newcomer to the DT system. I'm sure he learn and act accordingly.

Suppose a new member gets 5-10 merit points for some of his posts in total. Now he gives these points to a enemy here for a short post. This may raise suspicion among the senior members and both members may be given negative trust. Isn't is unjustified for the later member ? How is the staff going to tackle this ? 

If there is evidence that the intent is malicious, then the new member will get tagged. This happened to me a few days ago with someone giving me 50 merit points and insinuating that I might have bought it from them. They have subsequently received a negative rating from me.

[pugman]

You actually think you're trying to help here but you're not. Theymos has already stated that whoever abuses the merit system, their merits shall be decayed. The staff need not worry much. Tracking down such abusers shouldn't be such a hectic task.
You're newbie, I do understand but can you not read and then create  a thread? This thread is conveying the same message just like those tens of the same threads with the same context. Enough of this criticism already.
Edit :- Oh crap! Dang it lauda, you beat me to it.

[guschin]

If there is evidence that the intent is malicious, then the new member will get tagged. This happened to me a few days ago with someone giving me 50 merit points and insinuating that I might have bought it from them. They have subsequently received a negative rating from me.

I am not talking of members like you. Talking of new members up to Member rank or so. I am sure there accounts are also precious for them. What evidence can they give ?

[Thirio]

People are misusing the merit system in number of ways and it is good that some are getting caught as well. But there is one way which will be hard to detect:

Suppose a new member gets 5-10 merit points for some of his posts in total. Now he gives these points to a enemy here for a short post. This may raise suspicion among the senior members and both members may be given negative trust. Isn't is unjustified for the later member ? How is the staff going to tackle this ? 

I don't get what's wrong with these as long as they're merit-worthy:

1. New member giving away his sMerit to a high ranked

2. New member giving away his sMerit to a short post

It's even better for the forum that new members are paying it forward, that they're willing to give their sMerits. Although i get your point that it may be suspicious, at least new members beforehand are making quality post. But if that's the case (same person handling accounts) why didn't the high ranked just posted with his account instead of creating a new one? His account will gain merit + reputation + unsuspicious life.

[guschin]

You actually think you're trying to help here but you're not. Theymos has already stated that whoever abuses the merit system, their merits shall be decayed. The staff need not worry much. Tracking down such abusers shouldn't be such a hectic task.
You're newbie, I do understand but can you not read and then create  a thread? This thread is conveying the same message just like those tens of the same threads with the same context. Enough of this criticism already.
Edit :- Oh crap! Dang it lauda, you beat me to it.

I am not saying that the merit system is bad. There is nothing wrong to correct any flaw in the  new system if it exists. I am new here and did not saw anyone raising this particular issue and that is why I created this thread.

[Lauda]

If there is evidence that the intent is malicious, then the new member will get tagged. This happened to me a few days ago with someone giving me 50 merit points and insinuating that I might have bought it from them. They have subsequently received a negative rating from me.

I am not talking of members like you. Talking of new members up to Member rank or so. I am sure there accounts are also precious for them. What evidence can they give ?

Evidence of what? For someone to get neg. rated for the mentioned reason, the following is required:
1) Someone to abuse it, e.g. sending merit to your enemy.
2) Someone to notice and report it.
3) Someone(s) to evaluate it.
4) Someone to act upon it.
Somewhere down the line, somebody is either going to notice: a) That the member sending the merit points is dishonest. b) That the report (evidence) isn't sufficient for a tag.

[fedorover]

This is something very different to spot and will result in lot of confusion. I hope they check past posts of members if they had conflicts or so for this.