ㅤ

[Symmetrick]

ㅤ

[JeromeTash]

I am not a merit source but whenever I am to send merit, i do try to check the user's merit history. If they are merit hoarders, I don't send anything, and also in most cases i send Merits to recent posts so it's very rare for me to send to inactive or previously banned profiles.

[suchmoon]

the main thing is that the post is useful.

This.

All that other stuff is a waste of time and makes merit sending too complicated. It doesn't matter what the recipient will or will not do with the merits/smerits. The purpose of the merit system is to award posts, not users.

The only thing that I occasionally check for is plagiarism - if I suspect that the user sounds unusually eloquent. But I'm sure I've merited some plagiarised posts over the years. Shit happens.

[sheenshane]

Sorry for interfering with your topic even I'm not a merit source, allow me to share my idea.

If you want to hear my opinion, this would be my reason.
I will not choose who the users are, (if I'm a merit source) I will give merit those post that something contributed to the community and help a lot of people IF they deserve to have. I'm usually more interested in an open topic post that gives technical and fundamental advice related to crypto stuff. And, I will not merit old topics, more likely fresh topics much better.

But some users break this scheme of distribution of merites, leaving them with themselves and without sending them to anyone else. For what reasons they do not distribute them, it is not known, maybe they are just too lazy to do this, or maybe they are very demanding on the quality of posts and are looking for posts of the Satoshi level to evaluate.

Since they aren't merit source, probably they had a high standard of giving merit. If they got this merit because of worth it post, there's no problem. But it would be better if no one will not hoard merit(s). It's different with me, I usually spent out when I got merit. We have nothing to do about this, their merit, their right how to spend with it.

[tranthidung]

As I understand it, when theymos created the merit system, he meant that after the merit sources received merit from him, they in turn distributed them to users. And users who received merit from the merit sources also distributed them to other users.

It is a role of merit source but not a mandatory task they have to finish each month. Being a merit source and distribute sMerit to others are kind of free task so that merit sources are free to handle all smerit allocated to their accounts.

In total, a certain scheme turned out that 8 merites issued for merit sources turned into 15 merites in total, because the merites distributed were always divided by 2 and new smerites were obtained, which continued to spread to users.

8 - 4 - 2 - 1 = 15 merits

You are wrong. Merit sources only received smerit and they are not received a single merit for being merit sources. Your calculation, consequently, is wrong too. 8 smerits if distribute well will result in
8 - 4 - 2 - 1 - 0.5 = 15.5 smeris in total and only 15 smerit can be distributed.

But some users break this scheme of distribution of merites, leaving them with themselves and without sending them to anyone else.

Last year, theymos restructured merit sources and he said he will recalculate things each 6 months.

For example, when evaluating posts, if I see that a user has been banned for a long time, I will not send him merit, because that makes no sense.

Sometimes, you don't know that user is perma banned or not if he did not wear an avatar. If he wears an avatar, you can only guess if you don't dig deeply and investigate. Honestly, I don't think there are reasons to do such investigation before sending my smerit to others.

So now the question itself: Do you pay attention to those users who never send anything to anyone when sending them a merit or you don't care, the main thing is that the post is useful.

satoshi, Hal, and some others have received many merit and they deserve that. No need to take their (in)activity into account.

[DdmrDdmr]

<…>

I seldom pay attention to that fact, although recently I caught myself meriting a profile (that deserved it), but whom I spotted has barely sent any, despite receiving plenty. That’s his prerogative, and since the posts were contributive, I went ahead.

This is the list of those profiles that have sent less number of merits in relation to the amount of merits they have earned (some for obvious reasons), having earned at least 200 Merits:

Code:

user_id   name                                    MeritReceived  MeritSent Ratio     url
3         satoshi                                 2329           0         0.0000    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=3
143       laszlo                                  380            0         0.0000    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=143
2436      Hal                                     756            0         0.0000    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=2436
43526     ocminer                                 236            0         0.0000    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=43526
106374    deadsea33                               243            0         0.0000    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=106374
130792    sidehack                                585            0         0.0000    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=130792
886352    RichDaniel                              283            0         0.0000    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=886352
905442    TheBobyHunter                           244            0         0.0000    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=905442
917021    fine99                                  250            0         0.0000    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=917021
1432750   gallisiardi                             205            0         0.0000    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1432750
1533708   mgoz                                    210            0         0.0000    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1533708
37522     Tomatocage                              208            1         0.0048    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=37522
364237    Kialara                                 256            2         0.0078    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=364237
19971     -ck                                     353            3         0.0084    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=19971
42880     Shawshank                               214            2         0.0093    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=42880
212012    nopara73                                274            3         0.0109    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=212012
26945     GameKyuubi                              555            10        0.0180    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=26945
24792     Phinnaeus Gage                          558            13        0.0232    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=24792
38894     SaltySpitoon                            1148           38        0.0331    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=38894
980501    Artemis3                                954            37        0.0387    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=980501
1285294   TERA2                                   212            10        0.0471    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1285294
366233    wndsnb                                  257            13        0.0505    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=366233
412662    tonych                                  363            20        0.0550    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=412662
1115697   realr0ach                               211            12        0.0568    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1115697
65269     likehiro                                252            17        0.0674    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=65269
1701092   Husires                                 298            23        0.0771    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1701092
109482    jseverson                               228            19        0.0833    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=109482
647331    PassThePopcorn                          206            19        0.0922    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=647331
1726270   Mamaecrypto                             215            20        0.0930    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1726270
338591    Thirdspace                              226            22        0.0973    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=338591
1730428   bakasabo                                216            22        0.1018    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1730428
324365    jstefanop                               251            26        0.1035    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=324365
1656984   thierry4wd                              217            23        0.1059    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1656984
2550169   Jean_Luc                                368            44        0.1195    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=2550169
140582    gbianchi                                291            38        0.1305    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=140582
381705    cellard                                 212            28        0.1320    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=381705
1208052   frankbitcoin                            274            39        0.1423    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1208052
1056258   mithrim                                 309            44        0.1423    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1056258
1099535   dolphriends                             275            40        0.1454    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1099535
36044     kano                                    292            43        0.1472    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=36044
1108331   explorder                               380            58        0.1526    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1108331
379920    dmwardjr                                264            42        0.1590    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=379920
2578892   Jawhead999                              447            72        0.1610    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=2578892
1273026   Bagiira                                 209            34        0.1626    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1273026
823344    Traxo                                   327            55        0.1681    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=823344
11425     gmaxwell                                3171           555       0.1750    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=11425
5797      grue                                    219            42        0.1917    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=5797
1052653   ui_zakharchenko                         225            44        0.1955    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1052653
316604    CryptoImperator                         203            41        0.2019    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=316604
879277    Coding Enthusiast                       1317           273       0.2072    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=879277
1003345   ChipMixer                               273            57        0.2087    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1003345
2538373   whotookmycrypto                         208            44        0.2115    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=2538373
405464    mocacinno                               1470           313       0.2129    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=405464
1069508   aleksej996                              229            49        0.2139    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1069508
239328    jack0m                                  210            45        0.2142    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=239328
1002739   OneNattyLitecoin                        235            54        0.2297    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1002739
657456    Nomad88                                 218            51        0.2339    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=657456
1626490   safar1980                               363            85        0.2341    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1626490
2724574   FP91G                                   268            64        0.2388    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=2724574
352429    BitcoinPenny                            716            172       0.2402    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=352429
374061    Kakmakr                                 477            115       0.2410    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=374061
1090672   Smart man                               506            122       0.2411    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1090672

Some of those listed are pretty helpful as far as I'm concerned. The profile I mentioned above is on the list, and now I recognize a few others. Nevertheless, if the posts are resourceful, I’d still give them merits (I might reconsider were my sendable merit balance low, taking into account other considerations).

[tranthidung]

< ... >

I have some of such data too. Till last Friday merit data dump, there are some stats (see below). Notice that there are 20161 users who only received merits (includes permanent banned users).

• Number of users who only earned at least 1 merit: 20161
• Number of users who only sent at least 1 merit: 7576
• Number of users who earned AND sent at least 1 merit: 15032
• Number of users who earned OR sent at least 1 merit: 42569

AND? the essence of this has changed? I didn't count all the halves. The bottom line was that from 8 merites you can get 7 more, so I was not mistaken about anything, maybe the translation is not entirely clear.

Sorry. Your calculation is fine but you made a typo or write incorrect info, merit source only receive smerit from theymos. It is what I want to contribute and help you to correct it.

6-month restructure is only a plan of theymos. Just a plan.

[Daniel91]

Since I'm from Croatia and I speak Croatian, my primary desire is to help with merits local Croatian members of this forum for posts in Croatian that others can't understand and reward with merits.
That’s why I decided to become a merit source and apply here.
In the Croatian part of the forum, I started a topic where local members can report their quality posts on this forum, in both Croatian and English.
If they meet the quality criteria, I reward them with a merit.
This means that only active local members can get merits.
Of course, I also reward the good posts of other members on this forum, especially in the beginners section, with the desire to help new members.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Half the time I don't even pay attention to the username I am meriting, let alone if they are a merit hoarder, inactive, banned, and so on. I've even merited a user that I have then reported a few minutes later because it turned out to be plagiarism.

8 smerits if distribute well will result in 8 - 4 - 2 - 1 - 0.5 = 15.5 smeris in total and only 15 smerit can be distributed.

The bottom line was that from 8 merites you can get 7 more, so I was not mistaken about anything, maybe the translation is not entirely clear.

Being completely pedantic, but actually you are both wrong. Given that sending any amount of merit results in exactly one half of that merit becoming available to the recipient as sendable merit, it is in essence an infinite series which converges on 1. Therefore, 8 merits when fully distributed (approaching infinity) result in 8 sMerits.

[Little Mouse]

For example, when evaluating posts, if I see that a user has been banned for a long time, I will not send him merit, because that makes no sense.

I do not think anyone check a profile whether they are banned or not when sending merits. There has no tag of banned user in the forum. I doubt a lot of people use personalized script to check status.
If anyone takes such time to check user status, if they are banned or not, if they are active or not, no one would distribute all of their merits.
On top of that, merit should be given to quality post so that readers can identify the quality posts when they visit a thread. So, after all, I should give priority to quality rather than all other aspects.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

the main thing is that the post is useful.

This.

Though I mostly agree with this, I wouldn't merit any of satoshi's posts, and I don't think I've ever merited any of Theymos's.  That isn't because of their post quality, but because I don't think the merits I would give them would be distributed in turn to other members who need them.  Theymos does merit posts, but I think he's got far more sMerits than he can send at the moment.

As for typical members I send merit to, I don't check to see what they've done with their merits in the past.  For one thing, it would be time-consuming to do that, and for another I just don't care all that much.  So ultimately if I know for a fact that a member is completely inactive or a known merit hoarder, I might pass them over if I see a quality post made by them, but I don't have hard-and-fast rules as far as that goes.

[PrimeNumber7]

During my time here, I have given out many hundreds of merits, more than some merit sources. It would be nice to be able to spend more merit, but that is a different matter.

When I send merit, I am highlighting the post, I am signaling to others that I believe you should read the post because it is useful, insightful, helpful, or there was a lot of effort put into it.

Assuming that all sMerit is sent every month, and assuming there is no sMerit at the beginning of the month, the total merit sent will be one less than double the total source merit available, if everyone receives an even number amount of merit. In practice less will be spent because not everyone spends all their sMerit and some people have an off number of merit.

Edit

the total merit sent will be one less than the total source merit available

One less than double the total source merit available.

Fixed. Thanks.

[o_e_l_e_o]

the total merit sent will be one less than the total source merit available

One less than double the total source merit available.

[Harlot]

I'm not a merit source as well but I have read dozens of merit related topics here in the meta to know that merit sources do some kind of background checks in the user before they send their merits. Some merit sources do read the post history of these members if they only find that only one post was helpful/useful and the rest are from bounty campaigns or spam threads they don't continue giving that person a merit. Some merit sources on the other hand check merit summaries of these people to see if there is a merit abuse going on but I have never read any merit source not giving merits just because they are hoarding merits.

[Findingnemo]

Sending merits to a banned account is completely useless and I rarely see any banned account receiving merits once they banned. But it doesn't really matter to check the merit sending history while you are meriting, if they don't like to send their merits then its they choice and even theymos clearly mentioned holding sMerits has no real benefits.

[LoyceV]

if I see that a user has been banned for a long time, I will not send him merit, because that makes no sense. He will no longer need him. Yes, and in the discussions when this issue was raised, all the same, most  were inclined to the fact that it makes no sense for banned users to send merits.

I get what you mean from the perspective of a forum user who needs Merit. My perspective, coming from a Merit source who always has a hard time "unloading" all sMerit, is that Merit is deserved by posts, not users. Good posts should be highlighted, even if the user was banned (even though there's a list of shame for Meriting banned users).
I usually don't send Merit "so that they can distribute it themselves". That's just a side-effect of Meriting a post.

There's another reason for my stance: sMerit isn't scarce. Theymos can create as much of it as he wants.

[Upgrade00]

If a post is accurate and would be helpful to those who come across it on the forum then it deserves to be merited whether or not the user is inactive or a hoarder. Merit sources are expected to make the effort to spend their smerits, regular users are advised to, but it's their prerogative to choose whether or not to. I'd rather have multiple hoarders posting quality content than regular merit distributors who do not post quality (I understand that there are users who do both).
The same applies to banned users in my opinion. Merit is not reward for good behavior but for quality content, if such content is still visible and still helpful, it is worthy of merits.

Secondary motives of merit creation (circling) shouldn't invalidate the primary objective (encouraging quality content). More merit sources can always be added along with their merit stash increased.

[suchmoon]

Good posts should be highlighted, even if the user was banned (even though there's a list of shame for Meriting banned users).

You can easily get on that list even if you never merit a banned user... they could get banned after you merit them. Not to mention that we don't really have an "official" way of finding out who's banned so it's kinda pointless to expect that merit sources would consider it.

[LoyceV]

You can easily get on that list even if you never merit a banned user... they could get banned after you merit them.

I've been on there before, I'm more surprised I am no longer on there now!

we don't really have an "official" way of finding out who's banned

Merit them, then check the list

it's kinda pointless to expect that merit sources would consider it.

It's not something to worry about if you just Merit good posts. It might be Merit abuse if someone mainly Merits users who get banned later, but users with good intentions shouldn't worry about it.

[Pffrt]

I think regardless if any other factors, quality is the only thing which should be considered before giving merits and that's what the purpose of implementing the merit button. If you are considering any other factor, you are being biased in my opinion.