https://gyazo.com/782e80dfbfcc4d047f37e9086b16eaf2You might as well rename the meta section to the merit section or you could add another section dedicated to merit, it's annoying as fuck and most posts are the same shit anyways. Also most of them don't give a fuck about the merit system or its flaws, they are just trying to get merits themselves.
True, most of the merited posts are in the meta section. I think it would just be simpler to just create subforum specific restrictions for merit, e.g. cannot merit in the meta or off-topic sections.
Right now, the meta section is the go to source for merit farming, just post a few high profile comments there that are likely to be viewed by merit sources, check back in a few hours and you'll probably have 2-3 merit. The same quality of post in another section of the forum would almost certainly attract no merit. Obviously adding a section dedicated to merit is just pointless, as that undermines the entire system. You shouldn't be posting just to earn merit, you should be earning merit just for posting, if you don't earn merit then your posts aren't worthy.
TLDR: Remove merit from the meta section.