Merits offered as a prize

[JollyGood]

If there are no official rules regarding merits or their sending of - then it means it is open to interpretation. Surely it would have been better to have had a system with point-specific rules in place as it would have clearly defined what was allowed and what was not. Maybe this will change in future.

Still no official clarification about this.

Is the distributing of merits in this manner a violation or not?

There aren't really any official rules regarding merit or the sending of it, much like the feedback system it's left up to the community to decide what is right or wrong. Giving merit away like this should probably be frowned upon or at least discouraged though. I've seen a couple of instances in the past where merit has been used as some sort of prize for winning something and I don't think people should be doing that personally. Giving merits away as a prize or reward for getting a bet right shouldn't really be done, but at the same time I don't think giving merit to a post that posted a winning bet would be inherently bad as long as it was worthy of being merited, but specifically offering merits for this is going to encourage users to bet with them. As others have said, worse posts are merited. I even saw OgNasty merit a your favourite fruit thread which is just another shit thread that shouldn't be merited but people can merit whatever they feel is deserving at the end of the day: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5265481.0

[hilariousetc]

If there are no official rules regarding merits or their sending of - then it means it is open to interpretation. Surely it would have been better to have had a system with point-specific rules in place as it would have clearly defined what was allowed and what was not. Maybe this will change in future.

You can ask theymos about it but from comments he's made in the past he isn't a big fan of specific set-in-stone rules and even the 'rules' thread here is unofficial and not sanctioned by him, considered more of a guide if anything. Just like feedback or scams they're left up to users to decide on how to police and from what I recall of his previous comments on merit they're to be largely unmoderated and left up to users to decide on how they issue then.Maybe you can create a thread and get community input on what they should and shouldn't be given for but I'd just say take potential abuse of them on a case by base basis like this situation.

[jademaxsuy]

I haven't given it any more thought. Since there have been such threads/raffles/actions several times and nobody ever had a problem with it, it was tolerated until now.

If this is a violation of rules we can of course change that.

If not I would leave it as it is

Very supportive, this is the kind of user that really care for his local board. I am not sure but there is not rulings here regarding on merits giveaway. It was not mentio that it is not allowed but merits is intended to give for users that are helpful.

So, what benefit that the organizer will get through this activity? I guess it is piblicity. By helping them out in their publicity they reward merit for the users who participated I guess it is still classified as helping as to what merit is intended to be given.

Anyway, if this is not allowed then no choice for the mods but to take action on this activity.

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

Still no official clarification about this.

Is the distributing of merits in this manner a violation or not?

This should be a violation and shouldn't be encouraged from my point of view. The quiz, giveaway or other activities in the past that have resulted to merited been used as a means of awarding the participants always had a way of impacting the forum but this particular cases isn't adding any value to the community instead it brings about more promotion to the project since participants hoping to gain some merit from them who likely participating in their contest.

Using merit simple means you're monetizing it as it's been given monetary value instead something with actually monetary value like BTC, etc. This just doesn't seem right, it should be stopped.

[JollyGood]

I understand theymos is not too keen on rigorous rules as such but do you think if there was enough consensus on this issue between a sizeable number of members then it would carry more weight? If theymos wants to leave feedback and merits largely unmoderated then maybe even with consensus it would not make much difference.

If there are no official rules regarding merits or their sending of - then it means it is open to interpretation. Surely it would have been better to have had a system with point-specific rules in place as it would have clearly defined what was allowed and what was not. Maybe this will change in future.

You can ask theymos about it but from comments he's made in the past he isn't a big fan of specific set-in-stone rules and even the 'rules' thread here is unofficial and not sanctioned by him, considered more of a guide if anything. Just like feedback or scams they're left up to users to decide on how to police and from what I recall of his previous comments on merit they're to be largely unmoderated and left up to users to decide on how they issue then.Maybe you can create a thread and get community input on what they should and shouldn't be given for but I'd just say take potential abuse of them on a case by base basis like this situation.

[Bagaji]

I think merit as a reward for prediction is a very wrong approach. It should not be given for such purpose, only good quality post should be given merits. However, I want to link you this thread by DTalk- https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5218206.msg53624239#msg53624239
He planned to share merit for people who can write quality post on a given topic which was also a form of rewards. You can get some good discussion from that.

What then will you people say of those that do merit signature campaign applications. I have seen where a post like "Zzzzzzzzz" received 10 merit and no one said anything.
If you guys don't have anything meaningful to say I don't think it will be out of place to keep quiet and say nothing.

[-CryptoViking-]

I don't see any reason and opening new topic for something like this.
Official rules does not say anything preventing users to send merits to anyone, except maybe in cases of merit abuse or merit trading (that can earn you a flag)
In fact, we have small fun topic in our local board for predicting correct price of Bitcoin on specific date.
I will reward extra merit if someone make correct prediction, and I hope I will not be burned like a witch(er) for this  

I think our thread is safe when it comes to things like this, since it requires some knowledge research and skill. Some charting and looking at various indicators or data to try to predict the correct price of BTC on a specific date and time, plus the poster that writes a good analysis or valuable opinion is rewarded extra merit.

It is crypto related, requires dedication, activates the community and adds value to the forum itself. Based on this I think we are more then good when it come to our summer fun topic.