Incentive to the Merit Sources to Achieve their Quota?

[DarkStar_]

I think that most merit sources do not need any merit.
Actually merit sources should not need merit at all. To avoid conflict of interest.

paxmao still needs ~740 merits to reach Legendary. I don't think it's very fair to the lower ranked merit sources to prevent them from ranking up, just because they are helping with the distribution of merits.

[Quickseller]

The issue is not so much that merit sources are not giving out enough merit (if this was an issue theymos could just designate more people to be merit sources), I believe it is a bigger issue that nonmerit sources have sMerit that is unspent, resulting in much less merit propagating than expected.

This is very hard to address and I don’t see any obvious solutions to this. 

[DdmrDdmr]

<...>
I didn't know he was a source. I thought only legendaries and heroes were sources...
<...>

Yes, Paxmao is one of those unknown Merit Sources who I consider great contribution as a Merit Source. His Merit Network size is the second overall largest, having merited 468 different forum members as of last Friday. That goes to say for his implication and commitment to finding new forum members to merit.

He is a big contributor in my local forum (but not limited to) where merit is rather scarce, and proof of how being a Merit Source does not carry you to receiving bags of merit back from awarded members.

[coinlocket$]

I don't know if it will help, one thing that will help is to add new sources or change the afk ones with new people who really wants to be sources.

[Vod]

I don't know if it will help, one thing that will help is to add new sources or change the afk ones with new people who really wants to be sources.

To be a source, you should be trusted.  Otherwise, Theymos risks you just giving all the merit away to your friends, or the highest bidder.  :/

[bitmover]

I think that most merit sources do not need any merit.
Actually merit sources should not need merit at all. To avoid conflict of interest.

I don't think it's very fair to the lower ranked merit sources to prevent them from ranking up, just because they are helping with the distribution of merits.

Of course that would be unfair.

I didn't mean to offend anyone. I didn't knew there were low rank members who were merit sources.

Maybe because I am not a native speaker I may have been misunderstood.

[suchmoon]

I vote for public beheadings for delinquent merit sources.

[Welsh]

What is true though is that there seems to be a rather extended feeling that there aren’t enough available Merit Sources.

One would only assume that he anticipated after dropping the merit system, and selecting the initial merit sources he would receive applications for merit sources rather than finding them manually. Yeah, there's tools for looking at the users sending the most merit, and all that, but that doesn't really show they are distributing their merits to quality posts.

I don't know if it will help, one thing that will help is to add new sources or change the afk ones with new people who really wants to be sources.

At least publicly, there haven't been many people who have applied. Let alone suitable users for merit sources.

I vote for public beheadings for delinquent merit sources.

Remind me, why I signed up for this?

[suchmoon]

Remind me, why I signed up for this?

Health insurance and pension plan?

Seriously though, OP's idea while based on a valid concern (we're are sending barely half of available sMerits) seems to assume that sMerits are scarce. Which they mostly are, but not for theymos. He can produce any number of them at any time, i.e. add more merit sources and/or allocate more sMerits per source. Which he's already doing. Incentives would probably skew the system in undesirable ways.

But if that is not enough we can always go to plan B(eheadings).

[Theb]

Actually merit sources should not need merit at all. To avoid conflict of interest.

Give us extra, unpaid work to read more posts than usual to find some worthy of merit, then penalize us so we can't advance in rank?

Doesn't make sense...  :/

How can you advance forward legendary?

But I didn't said you can't advance in rank, just that you don't need merits. Many merit sources have enough merit to the next rank already, that's why they don't need merit .. this is what I tried to say..

How can it be considered as conflict of interest?  He just mentioned one incentive and that is getting merits in return of doing his job (which is giving merits) and now you are saying it is a conflict of interest? The way I see it is members receiving merits from merit sources are being grateful from the merits they have received therefore they are giving merits as a way of showing gratitude. Plus can't you see the positive side of things? The more merits they are receiving means the more merits they can sent back again. Merit sources actually don't have an unlimited amount of sMerits to give and this is another way to replenish their sMerits.

[Vod]

If I could merit myself, I'd probably never leave my room...   

[bitmover]

How can it be considered as conflict of interest?  

The way I see it is members receiving merits from merit sources are being grateful from the merits they have received therefore they are giving merits as a way of showing gratitude.

The more merits they are receiving means the more merits they can sent back again.

 This is merit trading. This is the conflict I was talking about.. it's positive only to who is involved in this trade...

But this is not happening. At least I have never seen it.

And merit sources have more smerits than good posts to merit.

[Welsh]

And merit sources have more smerits than good posts to merit.

This may well apply to some merit sources, but certainly doesn't apply to them all. Merit sources don't really get that much per month to distribute when compared to the amount of posts being made site wide, and especially when merit sources are encouraged to send higher amounts per individual post than users who only have sMerit they've "earned" to send.

Merit sources don't get an unlimited amount of sMerit to send, and I think a few might dip into their earned sMerit from time to time. Remember, that the merit that merit sources get allocated to distribute refreshes periodically. It is certainly plausible for a merit source who was selected because they are good at identifying good posts to find a good post per day. That's 30 sMerit if you merited every single post with 1 merit alone, but this is hardly the case, and several often reward more per post.

[seoincorporation]

Maybe the issue is not about the merit sources, but about the quality of the posters. Every time I have a smerit to send, I look for a good newbie, to try to encourage people making their best to continue this way. I always spend minimum half an hour, if I'm lucky and find someone, which not always occur.

Besides, one of the most confrontational parts of the merit system is that merits are given 1 by 1, the most of the time. I think this make truly difficult to rank-up, so I kind of understand how can a good poster get desperate, for example, ranking-up from member to full member is going to take a while, at least you are a genius (there are few in this forum by the way).
So the actual formula works:
- Low content, merit sources with no one to reward.
- Low merit retribution, 1 by 1, good members will find the ranking system hard.

To the OP, just consider that to be a merit source, as has been told, means recognition and trust, not economical or personal interest. Even if it sounds unbelievable, there are people in here concern about the forum and with the goal of making it a better place for everyone instead of just gaining economical rewards.

[xtraelv]

I vote for public beheadings for delinquent merit sources.

Best suggestion in the whole thread !

Merit doesn't need to be propagated fast. I don't think it is hard to earn.

Rank	Required activity	Required merit	minimum months*	Average merit / month needed**
Brand new	0	0	0	0
Newbie	1	0	0	0
Jr Member	30	0	1	0
Member	60	10	2	5
Full Member	120	100	4	25
Sr. Member	240	250	8	31
Hero Member	480	500	16	31
Legendary	775-1030	1000	28 - 37	35

* shows minimum time in months required to rank up.
** shows minimum average merit required per month to rank up in minimum time


How is forum activity calculated?
Activity is calculated with the following formula:

Code:

activity = min(time * 14, posts)

Activity is increased by staying logged in or by posting and is updated every 30 minutes. There is a maximum of 14 activity points every 2 weeks.

I don't see 35 merits a month hard to achieve if you put some effort in your posts.

I also don't see it affecting anyone negatively. Someone like myself could have easily ranked up already by simply being active if I had wanted to prior to the introduction of the merit system.
Unless someone has exceptional crypto skills - someone that is 28 - 37 months on this forum is not in the same league as someone who has been on here since 2010.

[Quickseller]

It looks like, in general, users need to earn an average of 1 merit per day to rank up past being a "member" starting from when they create their account.

On its face, this does not sound very difficult, however there may be fairly extended periods in which users are not very active (eg, they make <1 post per day).

Being 6 months into the Merit system, how many users have received at least 180 merit? What about 90 merit? I don't think there are many, and merit was being given more freely when it was first implemented as everyone had a lot of sMerit to give away.

[xtraelv]

It looks like, in general, users need to earn an average of 1 merit per day to rank up past being a "member" starting from when they create their account.

On its face, this does not sound very difficult, however there may be fairly extended periods in which users are not very active (eg, they make <1 post per day).

Being 6 months into the Merit system, how many users have received at least 180 merit? What about 90 merit? I don't think there are many, and merit was being given more freely when it was first implemented as everyone had a lot of sMerit to give away.

A single good post continues to accumulate merit.

Take Legendary profiles of bitcointalk. from Ariem for example.

He doesn't have a lot of posts but this single post from April (and his Russian translated version) continue to deservingly gain merits over time.
While created in April it keeps on getting more merit. It isn't overly complex and English is his second language. It would have just taken a bit of time and research.

Maintaining a single or a couple of good post with updates and improvements is all it would take to get to Sr.Member.

I look at https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=recent;patrol daily and have yet to find a merit-able post there.

[DdmrDdmr]

Being 6 months into the Merit system, how many users have received at least 180 merit? What about 90 merit? I don't think there are many, and merit was being given more freely when it was first implemented as everyone had a lot of sMerit to give away.

Breaking the accumulated Merit per user into groups of 30, the distribution is as follows (forum members who have received at least 1 sMerit):

Code:

group	from	to	nUsers	% Users
74	2194	2194	1	0,01%
35	1034	1034	1	0,01%
25	730	730	1	0,01%
24	718	718	1	0,01%
21	601	601	1	0,01%
19	558	562	2	0,01%
18	516	516	1	0,01%
17	500	500	1	0,01%
16	478	478	1	0,01%
15	425	436	2	0,01%
14	395	417	2	0,01%
13	360	385	6	0,04%
12	343	357	6	0,04%
11	300	328	12	0,07%
10	274	296	9	0,05%
9	244	266	15	0,09%
8	210	238	18	0,11%
7	181	209	20	0,12%
6	150	178	42	0,25%
5	121	148	39	0,23%
4	90	119	135	0,80%
3	60	89	193	1,15%
2	30	59	612	3,64%
1	1	29	15674	93,33%

Note: Gaps in ranges from/to denote no members with that value of sMerit received.

That is, 93,33% have between awarded between 1 and 29 sMerits since the Merit System kick-off, 3,64% between 30 and 59, 1,15% between 60 and 89 and only 1,88% are in the range of having received 90 sMerits or above...

[LoyceV]

Being 6 months into the Merit system, how many users have received at least 180 merit? What about 90 merit?

I made a list, updated weekly.
Last Friday, 100 users had received at least 180 Merit, and 316 users had received 90 Merit.

Code:

     1. 2194 Merit received by theymos (#35) from 463 unique users in 667 transactions
     2. 1034 Merit received by satoshi (#3) from 107 unique users in 129 transactions
     3. 730 Merit received by nullius (#976210) from 126 unique users in 354 transactions
     4. 718 Merit received by Lutpin (#520313) from 133 unique users in 169 transactions
     5. 601 Merit received by TMAN (#98986) from 127 unique users in 236 transactions
     6. 562 Merit received by Last of the V8s (#479624) from 99 unique users in 407 transactions
     7. 558 Merit received by Lauda (#101872) from 100 unique users in 161 transactions
     8. 516 Merit received by LoyceV (#459836) from 155 unique users in 322 transactions
     9. 500 Merit received by Vod (#30747) from 147 unique users in 227 transactions
    10. 478 Merit received by pitipawn (#1076869) from 58 unique users in 77 transactions
    11. 436 Merit received by DdmrDdmr (#1582324) from 100 unique users in 219 transactions
    12. 425 Merit received by Jet Cash (#698159) from 133 unique users in 251 transactions
    13. 417 Merit received by joniboini (#1275282) from 65 unique users in 204 transactions
    14. 395 Merit received by krogothmanhattan (#1000199) from 74 unique users in 165 transactions
    15. 385 Merit received by The Pharmacist (#487418) from 97 unique users in 245 transactions
    16. 378 Merit received by BTCforJoe (#557989) from 94 unique users in 157 transactions
    17. 370 Merit received by TheQuin (#143168) from 116 unique users in 225 transactions
    18. 368 Merit received by suchmoon (#234771) from 90 unique users in 159 transactions
    19. 361 Merit received by BobLawblaw (#569455) from 74 unique users in 234 transactions
    20. 360 Merit received by deeperx (#1038794) from 76 unique users in 89 transactions
    21. 357 Merit received by zazarb (#369212) from 30 unique users in 39 transactions
    22. 357 Merit received by DannyHamilton (#60820) from 85 unique users in 184 transactions
    23. 355 Merit received by explorder (#1108331) from 189 unique users in 195 transactions
    24. 352 Merit received by achow101 (#290195) from 87 unique users in 244 transactions
    25. 346 Merit received by GameKyuubi (#26945) from 55 unique users in 55 transactions
    26. 343 Merit received by jojo69 (#49008) from 65 unique users in 199 transactions
    27. 328 Merit received by romanornr (#225292) from 14 unique users in 22 transactions
    28. 322 Merit received by sncc (#1560793) from 68 unique users in 120 transactions
    29. 315 Merit received by gawlea (#925926) from 21 unique users in 29 transactions
    30. 314 Merit received by HCP (#867786) from 91 unique users in 198 transactions
    31. 308 Merit received by Toxic2040 (#239406) from 62 unique users in 187 transactions
    32. 307 Merit received by theyoungmillionaire (#1180530) from 78 unique users in 120 transactions
    33. 307 Merit received by QuestionAuthority (#72795) from 84 unique users in 96 transactions
    34. 305 Merit received by marlboroza (#787736) from 79 unique users in 131 transactions
    35. 304 Merit received by hilariousetc (#397737) from 97 unique users in 213 transactions
    36. 303 Merit received by mstfprcn (#915311) from 45 unique users in 71 transactions
    37. 303 Merit received by bill gator (#370611) from 129 unique users in 170 transactions
    38. 300 Merit received by Torque (#163318) from 78 unique users in 233 transactions
    39. 296 Merit received by DarkStar_ (#507936) from 93 unique users in 143 transactions
    40. 293 Merit received by micgoossens (#1067333) from 51 unique users in 132 transactions
    41. 285 Merit received by infofront (#41175) from 66 unique users in 195 transactions
    42. 283 Merit received by RichDaniel (#886352) from 11 unique users in 12 transactions
    43. 278 Merit received by bitmover (#1554927) from 106 unique users in 191 transactions
    44. 277 Merit received by mfort312 (#182284) from 71 unique users in 177 transactions
    45. 274 Merit received by pandukelana2712 (#1304130) from 76 unique users in 131 transactions
    46. 274 Merit received by OgNasty (#18321) from 73 unique users in 107 transactions
    47. 274 Merit received by LeGaulois (#507856) from 85 unique users in 122 transactions
    48. 266 Merit received by JayJuanGee (#252510) from 79 unique users in 186 transactions
    49. 261 Merit received by zentdex (#1331637) from 85 unique users in 107 transactions
    50. 258 Merit received by alex bond (#909175) from 10 unique users in 30 transactions
    51. 258 Merit received by Xynerise (#1250855) from 71 unique users in 164 transactions
    52. 256 Merit received by zonefloor (#934649) from 16 unique users in 40 transactions
    53. 256 Merit received by Hhampuz (#881377) from 67 unique users in 119 transactions
    54. 251 Merit received by saulzaents (#944905) from 13 unique users in 23 transactions
    55. 251 Merit received by coinlocket$ (#1339716) from 78 unique users in 146 transactions
    56. 250 Merit received by yahoo62278 (#355846) from 121 unique users in 140 transactions
    57. 250 Merit received by identifyuser (#227450) from 7 unique users in 44 transactions
    58. 250 Merit received by Ajpa94 (#911155) from 11 unique users in 12 transactions
    59. 250 Merit received by ATMcoin (#932514) from 27 unique users in 32 transactions
    60. 245 Merit received by by rallier (#152486) from 45 unique users in 60 transactions
    61. 244 Merit received by tonych (#412662) from 49 unique users in 60 transactions
    62. 244 Merit received by TheBobyHunter (#905442) from 17 unique users in 17 transactions
    63. 238 Merit received by philipma1957 (#64507) from 53 unique users in 98 transactions
    64. 238 Merit received by HairyMaclairy (#181806) from 62 unique users in 218 transactions
    65. 236 Merit received by actmyname (#465017) from 62 unique users in 105 transactions
    66. 234 Merit received by RuSS512 (#979216) from 30 unique users in 32 transactions
    67. 233 Merit received by qwk (#24140) from 60 unique users in 84 transactions
    68. 232 Merit received by Limx Dev (#389271) from 42 unique users in 60 transactions
    69. 229 Merit received by athanz88 (#1141886) from 72 unique users in 104 transactions
    70. 228 Merit received by hilariousandco (#164822) from 62 unique users in 97 transactions
    71. 228 Merit received by Twinscoin2017 (#1093001) from 8 unique users in 8 transactions
    72. 223 Merit received by shorena (#181801) from 55 unique users in 67 transactions
    73. 222 Merit received by poptop (#906023) from 47 unique users in 92 transactions
    74. 219 Merit received by killyou72 (#408367) from 81 unique users in 91 transactions
    75. 217 Merit received by iasenko (#1291828) from 75 unique users in 111 transactions
    76. 214 Merit received by o_e_l_e_o (#1188543) from 66 unique users in 128 transactions
    77. 213 Merit received by hugeblack (#1059082) from 74 unique users in 103 transactions
    78. 212 Merit received by AlyattesLydia (#1046135) from 71 unique users in 101 transactions
    79. 210 Merit received by ocminer (#43526) from 45 unique users in 53 transactions
    80. 210 Merit received by Piggy (#188198) from 52 unique users in 83 transactions
    81. 209 Merit received by TERA2 (#1285294) from 64 unique users in 142 transactions
    82. 207 Merit received by Claymore (#306958) from 45 unique users in 52 transactions
    83. 204 Merit received by xhomerx10 (#120694) from 54 unique users in 125 transactions
    84. 202 Merit received by mithrim (#1056258) from 51 unique users in 83 transactions
    85. 201 Merit received by gmaxwell (#11425) from 30 unique users in 63 transactions
    86. 200 Merit received by ibminer (#84866) from 49 unique users in 70 transactions
    87. 200 Merit received by Smart man (#1090672) from 58 unique users in 94 transactions
    88. 200 Merit received by Husna QA (#1827294) from 36 unique users in 103 transactions
    89. 199 Merit received by sabotag3x (#846936) from 47 unique users in 115 transactions
    90. 198 Merit received by ui_zakharchenko (#1052653) from 115 unique users in 119 transactions
    91. 198 Merit received by Aerys2 (#991046) from 38 unique users in 47 transactions
    92. 197 Merit received by minerjones (#346731) from 36 unique users in 57 transactions
    93. 197 Merit received by Carlton Banks (#64205) from 57 unique users in 102 transactions
    94. 191 Merit received by bob123 (#579628) from 56 unique users in 131 transactions
    95. 191 Merit received by PHI1618 (#1071136) from 43 unique users in 71 transactions
    96. 190 Merit received by alexberezov (#1066970) from 4 unique users in 4 transactions
    97. 190 Merit received by Co1n (#95019) from 58 unique users in 105 transactions
    98. 188 Merit received by ace4549 (#359844) from 38 unique users in 48 transactions
    99. 185 Merit received by d_eddie (#1027694) from 42 unique users in 119 transactions
   100. 181 Merit received by EFS (#140584) from 49 unique users in 65 transactions
   101. 178 Merit received by Kreds (#1122274) from 3 unique users in 4 transactions
   102. 176 Merit received by roycilik (#1051955) from 40 unique users in 109 transactions
   103. 176 Merit received by mole0815 (#1424178) from 31 unique users in 62 transactions
   104. 176 Merit received by NLNico (#107762) from 29 unique users in 36 transactions
   105. 175 Merit received by hirozaki faraday (#1080356) from 52 unique users in 70 transactions
   106. 174 Merit received by pugman (#325061) from 58 unique users in 76 transactions
   107. 172 Merit received by paxmao (#1192397) from 40 unique users in 62 transactions
   108. 172 Merit received by laszlo (#143) from 38 unique users in 38 transactions
   109. 172 Merit received by EcuaMobi (#169515) from 66 unique users in 102 transactions
   110. 171 Merit received by Bitcocoin (#905883) from 9 unique users in 14 transactions
   111. 169 Merit received by temmuz (#911706) from 10 unique users in 12 transactions
   112. 167 Merit received by Sylon (#112240) from 57 unique users in 69 transactions
   113. 165 Merit received by amishmanish (#1107844) from 56 unique users in 84 transactions
   114. 164 Merit received by aTriz (#135920) from 53 unique users in 61 transactions
   115. 163 Merit received by scutzi128 (#163631) from 31 unique users in 49 transactions
   116. 163 Merit received by gentlemand (#155345) from 86 unique users in 132 transactions
   117. 163 Merit received by Elwar (#554) from 60 unique users in 125 transactions
   118. 162 Merit received by Rhego (#1104013) from 30 unique users in 49 transactions
   119. 161 Merit received by aleksej996 (#1069508) from 32 unique users in 68 transactions
   120. 161 Merit received by Joel_Jantsen (#560412) from 47 unique users in 73 transactions
   121. 160 Merit received by xtraelv (#897509) from 43 unique users in 60 transactions
   122. 160 Merit received by spartak_t (#202461) from 4 unique users in 6 transactions
   123. 158 Merit received by manji (#1310981) from 40 unique users in 110 transactions
   124. 156 Merit received by Samarkand (#1010454) from 60 unique users in 87 transactions
   125. 156 Merit received by Hakamura (#1160086) from 61 unique users in 63 transactions
   126. 155 Merit received by Alex_Sr (#1762404) from 10 unique users in 153 transactions
   127. 154 Merit received by mprep (#51173) from 35 unique users in 46 transactions
   128. 154 Merit received by FollowSynergy (#837236) from 6 unique users in 9 transactions
   129. 153 Merit received by levyashin (#1023029) from 33 unique users in 36 transactions
   130. 153 Merit received by First1by (#988901) from 16 unique users in 41 transactions
   131. 152 Merit received by Ranyar (#1023316) from 87 unique users in 88 transactions
   132. 151 Merit received by niknik1966 (#1013524) from 13 unique users in 21 transactions
   133. 151 Merit received by gamerWOT (#1108972) from 22 unique users in 34 transactions
   134. 151 Merit received by Yury1 (#1056566) from 30 unique users in 33 transactions
   135. 151 Merit received by Welsh (#84521) from 43 unique users in 79 transactions
   136. 150 Merit received by vlad230 (#1268116) from 32 unique users in 49 transactions
   137. 150 Merit received by mdayonliner (#1432468) from 64 unique users in 94 transactions
   138. 150 Merit received by gunhell16 (#1101424) from 21 unique users in 24 transactions
   139. 150 Merit received by esmanthra (#1764764) from 24 unique users in 142 transactions
   140. 150 Merit received by Lantind (#763725) from 9 unique users in 9 transactions
   141. 150 Merit received by Chachacoin17 (#1002351) from 3 unique users in 3 transactions
   142. 150 Merit received by BOMG (#1033117) from 15 unique users in 45 transactions
   143. 148 Merit received by ludbega (#174460) from 13 unique users in 20 transactions
   144. 148 Merit received by Tomatocage (#37522) from 34 unique users in 39 transactions
   145. 148 Merit received by ColorlessK (#1029845) from 30 unique users in 38 transactions
   146. 147 Merit received by cAPSLOCK (#35501) from 42 unique users in 80 transactions
   147. 147 Merit received by TryNinja (#557798) from 70 unique users in 114 transactions
   148. 147 Merit received by 600watt (#88912) from 60 unique users in 85 transactions
   149. 142 Merit received by d5000 (#85033) from 58 unique users in 115 transactions
   150. 142 Merit received by aliyagiz207 (#1001712) from 28 unique users in 31 transactions
   151. 142 Merit received by Evil-Knievel (#159191) from 8 unique users in 12 transactions
   152. 141 Merit received by HeRetiK (#99837) from 54 unique users in 96 transactions
   153. 141 Merit received by EverGreenCoin (#594870) from 6 unique users in 7 transactions
   154. 140 Merit received by semux (#1062325) from 28 unique users in 29 transactions
   155. 140 Merit received by masstahcoiner (#1005975) from 5 unique users in 7 transactions
   156. 140 Merit received by grue (#5797) from 43 unique users in 51 transactions
   157. 139 Merit received by Mitchell (#113670) from 60 unique users in 70 transactions
   158. 135 Merit received by jillscarbrough (#447935) from 24 unique users in 58 transactions
   159. 135 Merit received by Trofo (#1099980) from 43 unique users in 108 transactions
   160. 135 Merit received by ToTheMoon_XOM9IK (#1499733) from 53 unique users in 79 transactions
   161. 135 Merit received by Coin++ (#990983) from 6 unique users in 15 transactions
   162. 134 Merit received by Rosewater Foundation (#1257516) from 26 unique users in 97 transactions
   163. 134 Merit received by CarlOrff (#822485) from 6 unique users in 12 transactions
   164. 133 Merit received by Paractor (#667927) from 6 unique users in 33 transactions
   165. 131 Merit received by Matthias9515 (#1018510) from 46 unique users in 52 transactions
   166. 130 Merit received by inbizin (#1416871) from 19 unique users in 125 transactions
   167. 130 Merit received by fengxia (#974724) from 3 unique users in 5 transactions
   168. 130 Merit received by Hydrogen (#68364) from 49 unique users in 85 transactions
   169. 129 Merit received by tvplus006 (#1311641) from 88 unique users in 93 transactions
   170. 129 Merit received by HagssFIN (#348185) from 35 unique users in 53 transactions
   171. 127 Merit received by phantastisch (#18312) from 15 unique users in 23 transactions
   172. 127 Merit received by baba0000000000 (#1056600) from 15 unique users in 28 transactions
   173. 125 Merit received by yla1974 (#909172) from 7 unique users in 18 transactions
   174. 125 Merit received by explorer (#129726) from 44 unique users in 94 transactions
   175. 124 Merit received by dooglus (#3420) from 22 unique users in 35 transactions
   176. 123 Merit received by adonay72 (#929600) from 5 unique users in 18 transactions
   177. 123 Merit received by ChiBitCTy (#904524) from 30 unique users in 58 transactions
   178. 123 Merit received by 1Referee (#308793) from 49 unique users in 93 transactions
   179. 122 Merit received by numanoid (#333524) from 57 unique users in 62 transactions
   180. 121 Merit received by SyGambler (#405889) from 26 unique users in 37 transactions
   181. 121 Merit received by CryptoCutie (#1231225) from 27 unique users in 42 transactions
   182. 119 Merit received by Dr.Mann (#1806854) from 5 unique users in 33 transactions
   183. 118 Merit received by shahzadafzal (#1634314) from 53 unique users in 78 transactions
   184. 118 Merit received by Gleb Gamow (#349097) from 33 unique users in 49 transactions
   185. 117 Merit received by nickbelski (#856233) from 4 unique users in 9 transactions
   186. 117 Merit received by kaar (#1439008) from 48 unique users in 51 transactions
   187. 117 Merit received by franky1 (#65837) from 57 unique users in 88 transactions
   188. 117 Merit received by devollito (#1001911) from 3 unique users in 4 transactions
   189. 116 Merit received by Parodium (#1162397) from 26 unique users in 36 transactions
   190. 116 Merit received by BTCMILLIONAIRE (#387921) from 35 unique users in 76 transactions
   191. 115 Merit received by lemonrabid (#1728877) from 68 unique users in 77 transactions
   192. 115 Merit received by RGBKey (#182468) from 30 unique users in 53 transactions
   193. 113 Merit received by dimao (#112286) from 7 unique users in 8 transactions
   194. 113 Merit received by alia (#1764044) from 31 unique users in 64 transactions
   195. 113 Merit received by ChardsElican28 (#1692227) from 4 unique users in 4 transactions
   196. 112 Merit received by yogg (#140827) from 26 unique users in 38 transactions
   197. 112 Merit received by oracleongoodbye (#829732) from 7 unique users in 8 transactions
   198. 112 Merit received by LastJedi (#1381008) from 11 unique users in 24 transactions
   199. 111 Merit received by BitcoinPenny (#352429) from 23 unique users in 43 transactions
   200. 111 Merit received by Becassine (#1224889) from 19 unique users in 27 transactions
   201. 110 Merit received by vipganyan (#1548994) from 16 unique users in 30 transactions
   202. 110 Merit received by BitRentX (#347141) from 43 unique users in 54 transactions
   203. 109 Merit received by udonmez (#915899) from 9 unique users in 13 transactions
   204. 109 Merit received by toknormal (#98113) from 39 unique users in 56 transactions
   205. 109 Merit received by mindrust (#176777) from 48 unique users in 78 transactions
   206. 109 Merit received by dbshck (#153634) from 58 unique users in 61 transactions
   207. 109 Merit received by Hal (#2436) from 28 unique users in 29 transactions
   208. 107 Merit received by fine99 (#917021) from 5 unique users in 5 transactions
   209. 107 Merit received by JohnUser (#319562) from 15 unique users in 22 transactions
   210. 106 Merit received by asche (#1580039) from 9 unique users in 76 transactions
   211. 106 Merit received by DooMAD (#175361) from 46 unique users in 75 transactions
   212. 105 Merit received by udivkx (#1437751) from 3 unique users in 3 transactions
   213. 105 Merit received by stompix (#164749) from 63 unique users in 83 transactions
   214. 105 Merit received by nc50lc (#1237156) from 51 unique users in 68 transactions
   215. 105 Merit received by crackfoo (#209640) from 3 unique users in 3 transactions
   216. 105 Merit received by bitserve (#87930) from 38 unique users in 86 transactions
   217. 105 Merit received by JaoBadjap (#1393407) from 3 unique users in 4 transactions
   218. 104 Merit received by sourish (#1045138) from 5 unique users in 7 transactions
   219. 104 Merit received by kingcarsen (#860708) from 6 unique users in 13 transactions
   220. 104 Merit received by dumbdragon (#313450) from 11 unique users in 15 transactions
   221. 104 Merit received by Avatar2030 (#1410806) from 26 unique users in 29 transactions
   222. 104 Merit received by 1miau (#2143453) from 13 unique users in 32 transactions
   223. 103 Merit received by dinofelis (#376659) from 26 unique users in 32 transactions
   224. 103 Merit received by Incognito01 (#1410604) from 28 unique users in 29 transactions
   225. 103 Merit received by AverageGlabella (#392646) from 23 unique users in 41 transactions
   226. 102 Merit received by mocacinno (#405464) from 57 unique users in 78 transactions
   227. 102 Merit received by YulyNov (#1617346) from 34 unique users in 34 transactions
   228. 102 Merit received by Heisenberg_Hunter (#1564795) from 55 unique users in 71 transactions
   229. 102 Merit received by Dabs (#54791) from 24 unique users in 32 transactions
   230. 102 Merit received by DNotes (#224925) from 6 unique users in 8 transactions
   231. 101 Merit received by etherclassic (#958248) from 3 unique users in 5 transactions
   232. 101 Merit received by MorpheWQ (#160745) from 23 unique users in 75 transactions
   233. 101 Merit received by Ekaterinat (#1428236) from 19 unique users in 25 transactions
   234. 100 Merit received by wnj4 (#914767) from 2 unique users in 2 transactions
   235. 100 Merit received by jooj (#913200) from 2 unique users in 2 transactions
   236. 100 Merit received by exus (#231031) from 39 unique users in 50 transactions
   237. 100 Merit received by doudou1110 (#1206752) from 3 unique users in 5 transactions
   238. 100 Merit received by Urbinklin (#1462029) from 10 unique users in 28 transactions
   239. 100 Merit received by NeverArgueWithWF (#1825808) from 12 unique users in 20 transactions
   240. 100 Merit received by Early_Waffle (#1380108) from 6 unique users in 12 transactions
   241. 100 Merit received by BitPanda.com (#903452) from 1 unique users in 2 transactions
   242. 99 Merit received by buwaytress (#901859) from 45 unique users in 72 transactions
   243. 98 Merit received by winterrose (#832906) from 2 unique users in 3 transactions
   244. 98 Merit received by srmecdes (#1199648) from 4 unique users in 19 transactions
   245. 98 Merit received by sidehack (#130792) from 15 unique users in 39 transactions
   246. 98 Merit received by ophyrim (#923435) from 33 unique users in 39 transactions
   247. 98 Merit received by Speculatoross (#1695463) from 36 unique users in 70 transactions
   248. 98 Merit received by Ksjywe4ka (#1334470) from 4 unique users in 19 transactions
   249. 98 Merit received by Gothorum (#674078) from 15 unique users in 59 transactions
   250. 98 Merit received by Danglen1010 (#1293204) from 6 unique users in 6 transactions
   251. 98 Merit received by BrewMaster (#803757) from 34 unique users in 45 transactions
   252. 97 Merit received by Wind_FURY (#844914) from 34 unique users in 48 transactions
   253. 97 Merit received by The_ Flash (#1828957) from 8 unique users in 20 transactions
   254. 97 Merit received by SFR10 (#521899) from 56 unique users in 71 transactions
   255. 96 Merit received by twbt (#137541) from 22 unique users in 70 transactions
   256. 96 Merit received by goatpig (#7811) from 7 unique users in 13 transactions
   257. 96 Merit received by emile12 (#1116047) from 17 unique users in 30 transactions
   258. 96 Merit received by amaclin1 (#1072601) from 14 unique users in 17 transactions
   259. 96 Merit received by allowance1219 (#1205985) from 5 unique users in 6 transactions
   260. 96 Merit received by Flying Hellfish (#79608) from 36 unique users in 64 transactions
   261. 96 Merit received by BlockEye (#553066) from 24 unique users in 25 transactions
   262. 95 Merit received by SaltySpitoon (#38894) from 38 unique users in 55 transactions
   263. 95 Merit received by Perunex (#1294613) from 3 unique users in 17 transactions
   264. 95 Merit received by -ck (#19971) from 29 unique users in 53 transactions
   265. 94 Merit received by jseverson (#109482) from 33 unique users in 43 transactions
   266. 94 Merit received by johhnyUA (#623643) from 25 unique users in 53 transactions
   267. 94 Merit received by edgycorner (#1016829) from 15 unique users in 21 transactions
   268. 94 Merit received by chn2z (#1306619) from 11 unique users in 24 transactions
   269. 94 Merit received by bobita (#963279) from 25 unique users in 43 transactions
   270. 94 Merit received by SeverusSnegg (#1249287) from 2 unique users in 5 transactions
   271. 94 Merit received by Rugosa (#815168) from 5 unique users in 6 transactions
   272. 93 Merit received by santino11 (#1169258) from 4 unique users in 4 transactions
   273. 93 Merit received by lolchina (#1258900) from 5 unique users in 10 transactions
   274. 93 Merit received by colacat1111 (#1206033) from 3 unique users in 3 transactions
   275. 93 Merit received by WaDa (#985812) from 22 unique users in 32 transactions
   276. 93 Merit received by Killermoney35 (#1051378) from 6 unique users in 9 transactions
   277. 93 Merit received by HabBear (#662570) from 41 unique users in 57 transactions
   278. 93 Merit received by Baltazaar (#1289582) from 15 unique users in 22 transactions
   279. 92 Merit received by whisee (#1241053) from 3 unique users in 3 transactions
   280. 92 Merit received by mehmet312 (#1229152) from 12 unique users in 24 transactions
   281. 92 Merit received by istklin (#1052765) from 15 unique users in 22 transactions
   282. 92 Merit received by bolshojkush (#1004212) from 55 unique users in 55 transactions
   283. 92 Merit received by TheUltraElite (#878630) from 31 unique users in 63 transactions
   284. 92 Merit received by LFC_Bitcoin (#379487) from 29 unique users in 78 transactions
   285. 92 Merit received by JeremyB (#1007192) from 29 unique users in 42 transactions
   286. 92 Merit received by Anon136 (#3028) from 35 unique users in 72 transactions
   287. 91 Merit received by tyKiwanuka (#1025255) from 24 unique users in 35 transactions
   288. 91 Merit received by btcminer6212 (#1282549) from 5 unique users in 11 transactions
   289. 91 Merit received by babicena14 (#383935) from 4 unique users in 4 transactions
   290. 91 Merit received by SKMoon (#1315135) from 5 unique users in 10 transactions
   291. 91 Merit received by Polytesse (#1129571) from 14 unique users in 17 transactions
   292. 90 Merit received by zhouyc (#1283512) from 8 unique users in 12 transactions
   293. 90 Merit received by yeyz20171031 (#1267831) from 15 unique users in 16 transactions
   294. 90 Merit received by wangxiaoyan888666 (#1274393) from 17 unique users in 24 transactions
   295. 90 Merit received by snowfu199 (#255518) from 2 unique users in 3 transactions
   296. 90 Merit received by smutexar (#1334788) from 4 unique users in 7 transactions
   297. 90 Merit received by roll on (#1037934) from 38 unique users in 38 transactions
   298. 90 Merit received by q(O_O)p (#1216431) from 3 unique users in 3 transactions
   299. 90 Merit received by fattyforhire (#103589) from 9 unique users in 20 transactions
   300. 90 Merit received by emrecemsan (#1217918) from 6 unique users in 11 transactions
   301. 90 Merit received by crazy1204 (#1207946) from 12 unique users in 21 transactions
   302. 90 Merit received by choubao0514 (#1206705) from 7 unique users in 7 transactions
   303. 90 Merit received by cannycassiopeia (#1160610) from 16 unique users in 20 transactions
   304. 90 Merit received by billsted86 (#1153691) from 2 unique users in 2 transactions
   305. 90 Merit received by anjho.ace (#1197849) from 13 unique users in 14 transactions
   306. 90 Merit received by Star_Bucks (#1049067) from 40 unique users in 40 transactions
   307. 90 Merit received by RomashkaSuH (#1275242) from 18 unique users in 29 transactions
   308. 90 Merit received by Patron92 (#300605) from 2 unique users in 2 transactions
   309. 90 Merit received by Mavilcposeti (#1233301) from 13 unique users in 15 transactions
   310. 90 Merit received by Liza Soberano (#1040237) from 32 unique users in 45 transactions
   311. 90 Merit received by Leonbtc (#1035345) from 3 unique users in 3 transactions
   312. 90 Merit received by Gummybear67 (#1039083) from 31 unique users in 43 transactions
   313. 90 Merit received by DronBudloS (#1275299) from 10 unique users in 13 transactions
   314. 90 Merit received by Chainblock (#1181025) from 10 unique users in 14 transactions
   315. 90 Merit received by BarkingHawk (#1115343) from 2 unique users in 5 transactions
   316. 90 Merit received by 1kodumtek7 (#1217914) from 8 unique users in 15 transactions

I look at https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=recent;patrol daily and have yet to find a merit-able post there.

I gave up on that, whenever I did, I found someone to be banned long before I saw a good post.

[Theb]

How can it be considered as conflict of interest?  

The way I see it is members receiving merits from merit sources are being grateful from the merits they have received therefore they are giving merits as a way of showing gratitude.

The more merits they are receiving means the more merits they can sent back again.

 This is merit trading. This is the conflict I was talking about.. it's positive only to who is involved in this trade...

But this is not happening. At least I have never seen it.

And merit sources have more smerits than good posts to merit.

But did day ask for the merits to be send back to them? I don't think it can be called "merit trading" if the merit sources have good post themselves, I don't think we can deny the fact that sending them merits for their meritable post is a bad thing to do, even if that merit sender is the one who has received merits from the merit source itself. If you want to see what merit trading really is go check some DT members' trust summary and search for their negative trust they are giving to merit abusers.