Merit Farming

[CarlosCorreia]

I don't know if something can be done, but I will report here my findings...
Already report to the moderators also.

When I saw someone claiming their rank has increased to Full Member in a bounty thread I found that strange!!
(nowadays is practically impossible to rank up)

When I check the merit page I saw that the user has received 73 merit points from the same person...

asche | https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1580039
oscar2000 | https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=377987

In a further analysis, Becassine also received 50 merits from oscar2000 from a normal post.

Becassine | https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1224889

[Vod]

When I check the merit page I saw that the user has received 73 merit points from the same person...

Thank you. This is more than enough reason to leave negative trust.

I think some people have been viewing the lack of a response as an invitation to cheat even more.

[mdayonliner]

~

It does not make me that much surprise. I have seen people are exchanging merits shamelessly yet they claim they are not abusing it. I have investigated 16 Cases with over 60+ abusers. The amount of merit has been abused are enormous.

Now a days merit abusers are becoming smarter and smarter.
They do not go like X->Z and Z->X
They go like X->Y->Z->A->B->......->W->X

[coinlocket$]

When I check the merit page I saw that the user has received 73 merit points from the same person...

Thank you. This is more than enough reason to leave negative trust.

I think some people have been viewing the lack of a response as an invitation to cheat even more.

Well if you have time for check over 200 merit for this group (of alt?) and abusing signatures, eth links proven https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3420918.0

[MainIbem]

It is shocking how people try to cheat.  If this is verified, it is a shame for that legendary member to be abating this cheating.

I think there should be stiffer penalty for senior who are caught misbehaving in the forum.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Thank you. This is more than enough reason to leave negative trust.

This makes me very happy that you tagged these guys.  I haven't seen many of the obvious merit buyers & sellers getting any consequences, and I got the impression that DT members were backing off of doing so.  Not tagging them IMO gives them the confidence to keep doing it, and they will.

It does not make me that much surprise. I have seen people are exchanging merits shamelessly yet they claim they are not abusing it.

Well you know, scammers and other dishonest people are known to deny it when you catch them performing their dishonest acts.  

This case has been on the radar for some time. I reported the case

It's still good you reported it and again, I'm very glad tagged these users. 

[sserge009]

I saw how 15 merits from one person were sent to the post about love for skates . The merit system appeared only recently and was like a bolt from the blue. Of course, the administration will struggle with the transformation of merits into the subject of trade, but it is not known how this will affect the future in the forum and bounty campaigns.

[DdmrDdmr]

When I check the merit page I saw that the user has received 73 merit points from the same person...
asche | https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1580039
oscar2000 | https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=377987
<...>

This case has been on the radar for some time. I reported the case:

* Back in March to the "Suspected users that are abusing merit 3.0" thread (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2896910.msg32817919#msg32817919)

* Again it cropped up a couple of weeks ago when I checked which users were on their way to ranking up (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3338915.msg34933172#msg34933172)
-> * asche -> Weird: Nearly all Merit comes from Oscar2000 in ANN threads. -> https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1580039).

I didn't see any action taken (until today), so I gave up on the case. Finally Karma caugh up.

[asche]

Ladies and Gentlemen, good evening,

I am coming here as advised by Vod after he sent me Neg Trust.
To make it clear from the beginning, I am not here to whine or to beg for anyone to remove the red trust, I merely hope I can tell you more about the situation.

First thing of all, I am new around here, first account ever on the forum even though I have been mining Litecoin since 2013.

About the present matter:

Yes I received many merits from oscar, and maybe he will come around this thread too.
For your information I didn't do anything for these merits, I believe oscar liked me somehow and wanted to do me a favor. Looks like it is going to be quite the opposite.
I regret how this happened, and I believe other people would deserve them more than I do, but I also believe this merit system is deeply unfair, but this is not the place to talk about this. However I think it should be taken into consideration when judging members receiving merit.

The issue being it is not possible to refuse any merit you receive. Also, why can't a member use his merits the way he wants, as long as he doesn't sell them, or gets any benefit for it?

I am spending a lot of time on these forums, discovering new projects, translating the one I can, and investing in others. I have appreciated my time here so far, and I am trying to do my part, mostly by reporting every bad behavior I spot on the french section, which we are trying to get cleaned up for ages, AND giving my smerit to posts/people who deserve it. (if someone influent steps by, please get us some attention for more moderation).

Bottom line is, if my best friend came to this forum and needed 10 merit to get to member, I would probably give them to him, because I know he is a great guy and will benefit the forum.

I'd be happy to hear your advices on how to handle myself in my present situation, which I can't change anymore.

Best regards

Edit : DdmrDdmr, just checked your post https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3338915.msg34933172, and I have to say, that is some amazing research. I hope this will also be used to make people rank up when they deserve it in the future

[The Sceptical Chymist]

I believe oscar liked me somehow and wanted to do me a favor.

I just looked at your merit history, and I find this claim to be laughable.  You've been well-tagged, IMO.  He gave you merits for every consecutive post in that thread, and those posts absolutely did not deserve merit.  There is no doubt in my mind that there was some sort of arrangement beforehand--don't know what it was, but it's either you bought those merits or that's your alt account.  Don't know, don't care.  If I were you, I'd be a bit pissed off at oscar2000 but you don't seem to be.

Bottom line is, if my best friend came to this forum and needed 10 merit to get to member, I would probably give them to him, because I know he is a great guy and will benefit the forum.

I'm failing to see how this is relevant to the merit you received and the trust you got from Vod.

He told me he would send me merits, I can assure you there is no arrangement

That's a bit of a contradiction right there.  You're coming off as extremely disingenuous.  You said at first that he might have sent you the merits because he likes you, and now you're saying he told you beforehand.  Well, did this individual give you a reason why he'd be sending you all those merits?

[asche]

I believe oscar liked me somehow and wanted to do me a favor.

I just looked at your merit history, and I find this claim to be laughable.  You've been well-tagged, IMO.  He gave you merits for every consecutive post in that thread, and those posts absolutely did not deserve merit.  There is no doubt in my mind that there was some sort of arrangement beforehand--don't know what it was, but it's either you bought those merits or that's your alt account.  Don't know, don't care.  If I were you, I'd be a bit pissed off at oscar2000 but you don't seem to be.

Bottom line is, if my best friend came to this forum and needed 10 merit to get to member, I would probably give them to him, because I know he is a great guy and will benefit the forum.

I'm failing to see how this is relevant to the merit you received and the trust you got from Vod.

Why would I?
He told me he would send me merits, I can assure you there is no arrangement, but I do know I can't prove that.
I didn't tell him to stop since I wasn't aware the situation would be so tense, like I said, I am a newcomer, and you can easily see by my post history I don't drop by meta too often.

As I also said, I never said I don't deserve the tagging.

I just believe I should make an appearance here and tell my side of the story. I know there is no point in arguing since there is no way to prove what I am saying.

And to be fair, I have heard how cheap you can buy a Full Member account, so if these numbers are correct, I don't think these merits are worth so much that someone would take this kind of risk knowingly for that.

I'm failing to see how this is relevant to the merit you received and the trust you got from Vod.

Just saying I would probably also give some merits to a friend of mine, even if it wasn't on a post that is "perfect".

[mdayonliner]

... why can't a member use his merits the way he wants, as long as he doesn't sell them, or gets any benefit for it?
.
.
.
Bottom line is, if my best friend came to this forum and needed 10 merit to get to member, I would probably give them to him,

With due respect, it seems like I need to add some of these on my [Parody] Merit translation topic

...because I know he is a great guy and will benefit the forum.

It sounds like you are talking about Trust system.

Do you guys even read this?

...I encourage people to give merit to posts that are objectively high-quality, not just posts that you agree with.

...There is no doubt in my mind that there was some sort of arrangement beforehand--don't know what it was, but it's either you bought those merits or that's your alt account....

Relate this... it's gonna make sense

Now a days merit abusers are becoming smarter and smarter.
They do not go like X->Z and Z->X
They go like X->Y->Z->A->B->......->W->X

In this case since oscar2000 is already a Legendary, you may not find the circle ending at X again (Just saying).

[asche]

Now a days merit abusers are becoming smarter and smarter.
They do not go like X->Z and Z->X
They go like X->Y->Z->A->B->......->W->X

In this case since oscar2000 is already a Legendary, you may not find the circle ending at X again (Just saying).

Well you are correct, cheaters will do it this way, small communities will also.

I am fairly certain some merit I gave to emile12 or DonScutzi may have come around somehow, because we are all active in the french section, or are talking on eachothers threads. Not everything is fraud.
And as you state it, oscar will not be at any circle ending, so why take the risk? What is the advantage? Loosing the credibility of his very precious Legendary account? I just don't get it, I mean, I would never do it if I had a legendary acc, that's for sure.

And again, I know it is vain to claim innocence here, please stop repeating that you are convinced of my guilt, I get that, so I am not trying to change your mind. I have said what I had to say, and I will try not to react to any reaction that will make me sad/angry/nervous However if you have any question or advice, I will read/answer.

[mdayonliner]

Now a days merit abusers are becoming smarter and smarter.
They do not go like X->Z and Z->X
They go like X->Y->Z->A->B->......->W->X

In this case since oscar2000 is already a Legendary, you may not find the circle ending at X again (Just saying).

Well you are correct, cheaters will do it this way, small communities will also.

I am fairly certain some merit I gave to emile12 or DonScutzi may have come around somehow, because we are all active in the french section, or are talking on eachothers threads. Not everything is fraud.
And as you state it, oscar will not be at any circle ending, so why take the risk? What is the advantage? Loosing the credibility of his very precious Legendary account? I just don't get it, I mean, I would never do it if I had a legendary acc, that's for sure.

Seems like oscar2000 did it (risked the account) even though s/he had a legendary account. You seems very innocent (!) however can we ignore that oscar2000 and asche are not ALTs to each others? The account holder thought why not send these sMerits to asche and rank it up (just a wild guess).

Update:
There are a lot of people here to give you advice but I would like to give you a suggestion. It's up to you to take it or leave it...
Forget what happened, from next time be very careful not to repeat this again and read the top stickies on the Meta board especially merit related topics since you are saying that you are new member (!) to the forum.

[Vashti]

Hahaha they are proud of saying they rank up and they don't know that it gives reason to Higher ups to investigate their account.
well cheaters has to be mark for their wrong doing.

[asche]

Now a days merit abusers are becoming smarter and smarter.
They do not go like X->Z and Z->X
They go like X->Y->Z->A->B->......->W->X

In this case since oscar2000 is already a Legendary, you may not find the circle ending at X again (Just saying).

Well you are correct, cheaters will do it this way, small communities will also.

I am fairly certain some merit I gave to emile12 or DonScutzi may have come around somehow, because we are all active in the french section, or are talking on eachothers threads. Not everything is fraud.
And as you state it, oscar will not be at any circle ending, so why take the risk? What is the advantage? Loosing the credibility of his very precious Legendary account? I just don't get it, I mean, I would never do it if I had a legendary acc, that's for sure.

Seems like oscar2000 did it (risked the account) even though s/he had a legendary account. You seems very innocent (!) however can we ignore that oscar2000 and asche are not ALTs to each others? The account holder thought why not send these sMerits to asche and rank it up (just a wild guess).

For starters I could provide some screenshots to you of some pm between each other, that are several days/weeks old. Maybe this can help you believe he isn't my alt.
Also if he wanted an alt I bet he would have created one way before.
Ultimately an admin can look into it. As far as I know we don't live in the same region, so this would be easy to spot based on ip.

[mdayonliner]

For starters I could provide some screenshots to you of some pm between each other, that are several days/weeks old. Maybe this can help you believe he isn't my alt.
Also if he wanted an alt I bet he would have created one way before.
Ultimately an admin can look into it. As far as I know we don't live in the same region, so this would be easy to spot based on ip.

I am done here buddy. If you think that can help you then do it if you want. Make sure you record the date/time as well. Good luck.

[asche]

For starters I could provide some screenshots to you of some pm between each other, that are several days/weeks old. Maybe this can help you believe he isn't my alt.
Also if he wanted an alt I bet he would have created one way before.
Ultimately an admin can look into it. As far as I know we don't live in the same region, so this would be easy to spot based on ip.

I am done here buddy. If you think that can help you then do it if you want. Make sure you record the date/time as well. Good luck.

I actually came here first to explain what happened and tell the people on this thread I was sorry for being part of this.
I was taught to accept punishments I deserve, and it looks like I deserve this one, even if I wasn't the one pushing the buttons.
Thank you anyway & have a good evening.

[digaran]

When I check the merit page I saw that the user has received 73 merit points from the same person...

Thank you. This is more than enough reason to leave negative trust.

I think some people have been viewing the lack of a response as an invitation to cheat even more.

Good decision. obvious cases where more than 30-50 merits are involved really deserve red tag, and thank you for spending your time.

[cabalism13]

What a waste, It feels like he doesn't care about his profile as a legendary, I don't know why do people are so foolish just to earn some more, risking their main profiles just like that. URRGHHHH~ People like this should be banned here, so they will know the worth of having a higher rank profile if they happen to create a new one again.