Merits Tree 2021 - Who gives merits to whom

[DireWolfM14]

It wouldn't be new years' weekend without a merited Meta thread about Merit.

Yeah, what's up with that?  I've noticed at least two threads like that in the past couple of days.

Well, I'm trying to be more diplomatic in 2022, so I'll refrain from expressing my opinion.   

[1713978287]

1713978287

[1713978287]

1713978287

[1713978287]

1713978287

[1713978287]

1713978287

[1713978287]

1713978287

[skarais]

I honestly don't really like hoarding the sMerit I've had for longer when I find quality posts. I'm more inclined to spend it than to have to keep it for months as it's the best way to maintain the cycle of achievement. But since I've never had a lot of sMerit so I'm more selective about spending it except when I can't find any other ideas than to spend it on previous transactions.

By the way, this is a good thread. It doesn't matter if more distribution of merit is given to highly rank users if they post something quality. Merit is not for a certain rank, but merit for anyone whose post is quality regardless of what rank they have at that time.

[LoyceV]

It is very long time and LoyceV did not update his threads

• Merit Backscratchers: who scratched who's back the most?
• [parody] Merit Backstabbers: who stabbed who in the back the most?

I expect LoyceV to update those threads after more than 1 year 

I updated both topics less than half a year ago. I've seen "complaints" about too frequent bumping, so if someone wants an update, they'll have to ask for it in the topic.

[joker_josue]

OP, this is a pretty cool visual representation of merit flow between selected members, and I'd like to see more (which I'm assuming is the purpose of your reserved posts).  I've seen very complicated merit maps before, and while those are cool I like this more limited display of where merit ends up two members removed from a merit source.  I'm assuming they're merit sources if they're on the most generous list.

Thanks! I will try to add a few more users soon.

If anyone wants me to make their tree, just ask. 

[Smartvirus]

What really bugs me is users receiving many merits and not sending enough.

I've expressed this sentiment before: People are free to do whatever they like with their sMerits, and it isn't a requirement of forum membership that you have to participate in--or even like--the merit system.  I'd say if it bugs you that someone is hoarding merits, you're probably paying too much attention to other members' sending history. 

For sure I like the sentiments about this and the way you did put it. To be a no man's business on how smerits ate being handled. I for one subscribe to that idea of not paying any and I mean, any attention to anyone's merit history. It just doesn't help any one and since there is virtually nothing you could do about it as a forum user, there just isn't any point. For sure, you can't provide any base to some forum users sense of judgment that could warrant the meriting of a post as that in itself, contradicts an ethic to meriting.

Though, its really of no using hoarding what adds no value to your account or user. Forum has so designed it that, merits counts for you, how many you earn through a period as well (120 days, 150days etc) but the smerits like a power to reward or acknowledge. Its best you use it at times. For a proactive user of the forum, its hard to say ig any user won't come across something intriguing and merit deserving. Not liking the merit system is some reason but really shouldn't be as, it could in some way, promote the very thing the merit system was meant to discourage (trolling and sh*t posting).

OP, that's some cool data set and presentation method right there.

[Pmalek]

a person with Legendary rank has no advantages in receiving merits, as much as in spending them to incremental the pool of reliable users (with high rank)

That's not really accurate. They are crucial for signature campaigns, no matter the rank. Imagine if most people refused meriting legendary users despite their level of posting and a spot opened up in a signature campaign. A legendary member with 4 earned merits in the recent months goes head-to-head with a hero member who has earned 300 in the same period. Who do you think will have the bigger chance to get accepted by most campaign managers?

Besides that, it's a recognition of your work and contribution. For that, rank doesn't matter. Time and effort should be rewarded.
What immediately caught my eye in this graphical representation is how stingy mocacinno is with rewarding others with merits.
Let's see if he says anything...

[The Sceptical Chymist]

If anyone wants me to make their tree, just ask. 

OK then, you don't have to twist my arm: Can you please make me a tree?  Thanks in advance (although I'm fairly sure I know what it's going to look like).

For sure I like the sentiments about this and the way you did put it. To be a no man's business on how smerits ate being handled. I for one subscribe to that idea of not paying any and I mean, any attention to anyone's merit history. It just doesn't help any one and since there is virtually nothing you could do about it as a forum user, there just isn't any point.

I think some members just do it for fun, and others are probably looking for people who might be abusing the system/sniffing out alts/whatever.  There's no harm in it, but as I said I'm not going to hold it against someone if they hoard all their sMerits, because nobody's required to participate in the merit system.

Side note: it's more fun browsing through some members' trust pages, though I haven't done that in quite some time.  It kind of gets old quick, and just like looking through people's merit history there's little point to it.

[Charles-Tim]

What immediately caught my eye in this graphical representation is how stingy mocacinno is with rewarding others with merits.
Let's see if he says anything...

People can never be the same, that is how merit system works on this forum. Some people just like to hoard all because they are not that active while they only reply to few they read. Mocacinno is not that active on this forum. But I get your point, he is a type that did not focus on sending merit also. 

I for one subscribe to that idea of not paying any and I mean, any attention to anyone's merit history. It just doesn't help any one and since there is virtually nothing you could do about it as a forum user, there just isn't any point.

I was not part of Bitcointalk community in 2018 when the merit system was implement but I am very certain that many people will abused it at the time as they were automatically given half of their merit's smerits. It will be fun for some people to fetch out some merit abusers.

I like to check user's merit history just for fun and it can easily let me know how the person is good if I haven't noticed him before. Also I  easily know someone's local board if active and posting good there.

but as I said I'm not going to hold it against someone if they hoard all their sMerits, because nobody's required to participate in the merit system.

I either. But I can never send such people merit unless they quote my post for correction. But I think this type of people receive more merits by merit source because merit sources have to send to anyone if having quality posts.

[DdmrDdmr]

<…> It might also be a nice addition to website like ddmrddmr merit dashboard, or <…>

Rather than tree-like structures, I’d favour more node graphs with vectors between nodes indicating the amount of sMerits sent to and fro (if applicable). The sMerit Network was partly what I wanted to see (although there was no weight on the vertex, and I has to separate Sent and Received charts for ease of use), and Piggy’s gephi based solution was very nice, despite not being able to see the weights of the vertex on the graphs (which is important).

Tableau can do graph charting, although it is something I haven’t tried out, and I believe you still need to resort to external tools to determine the x,y coordinates to give each node (i.e. gephi). I kind of get the feeling it won’t perform great on a large volume, and as I said, the ideal solution would be seamless for updates, filterable, and display values on the vertex. I may look into it at some point, but not now.

I did have a tab called reciprocal merit on the Merit Dashboard a while back, where you could see all reciprocal sMerits between accounts, but it was painfully slow, so I eventually scrapped it.

<…>

Nice one too. I think I tried something on Flourish, but it couldn’t handle all the data points I gave it at the time (all the TX BD basically).

[fillippone]

<…> It might also be a nice addition to website like ddmrddmr merit dashboard, or <…>

Rather than tree-like structures, I’d favour more node graphs with vectors between nodes indicating the amount of sMerits sent to and fro (if applicable). The sMerit Network was partly what I wanted to see (although there was no weight on the vertex, and I has to separate Sent and Received charts for ease of use), and Piggy’s gephi based solution was very nice, despite not being able to see the weights of the vertex on the graphs (which is important).

Some time ago, I tried a chord Diagram on flourish:

https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/5482014/

Clicking on the image you get to the original, clickable, chart.
I also made a similar one for the WO thread...

[joker_josue]

That's not really accurate. They are crucial for signature campaigns, no matter the rank. Imagine if most people refused meriting legendary users despite their level of posting and a spot opened up in a signature campaign. A legendary member with 4 earned merits in the recent months goes head-to-head with a hero member who has earned 300 in the same period. Who do you think will have the bigger chance to get accepted by most campaign managers?

Besides that, it's a recognition of your work and contribution. For that, rank doesn't matter. Time and effort should be rewarded.

I totally agree with that! I think that regardless of the user's level, if he deserves merit, he should receive it!
I look to merit as a way of saying, "I agree with you!/Congratulations!/Cheers!/That's right!"

So, if a topic or post from someone, meets what we agreed, giving a merit can be enough, not needing to make a post.
And there they are, merits help for campaigns too!

If anyone wants me to make their tree, just ask. 

OK then, you don't have to twist my arm: Can you please make me a tree?  Thanks in advance (although I'm fairly sure I know what it's going to look like).

By chance your tree had already been made, on the top page 11-30.   
Does it meet the expectations?

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► CryptopreneurBrainboss (32)
	┌	Mpamaegbu (200)	► Smartvirus (12)
	│		► igehhh (12)
	│
	│		► skarais (21)
The Pharmacist	┼	ShowOff (199)	► MAAManda (12)
	│		► Husna QA (11)
	│
	│		► ShowOff (7)
	└	BITCOIN4X (198)	► Husna QA (6)
			► DdmrDdmr (6)

~~

~~

I also tried these forms of presentation. But I also faced these problems a little.
This kind of charts work well with little information, when the information starts to grow, they get very complicated readings. Besides becoming complicated to build.

This presentation of mine was the one I managed to do (after almost 2 months of work), which gets the best reading and is easy to update.
Even so, he continued to think about how I could improve. If you have tips, they are welcome.




Thanks for everyone's support, more trees soon.

[LoyceV]

I look to merit as a way of saying, "I agree with you!~"

I can't agree with that I Merit a post if I think it's worth reading. It's not an endorsement, and it doesn't (necessarily) mean I agree with the post. I sometimes Merit opposing posts in a topic, because they all make valid points.

[fillippone]

I look to merit as a way of saying, "I agree with you!~"

I can't agree with that I Merit a post if I think it's worth reading. It's not an endorsement, and it doesn't (necessarily) mean I agree with the post. I sometimes Merit opposing posts in a topic, because they all make valid points.

Correct!^{(how this couldn't be..)}
This is what merits are meant to be:

While we will not be directly moderating this, I encourage people to give merit to posts that are objectively high-quality, not just posts that you agree with.

[joker_josue]

Top 1-10
Top 11-30
Top 31-50 (Some users may not appear, for not having given merits in 2021.)
Top 51-75

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► ZekiBeyy (48 )
	┌	W Jr. (213)	► execijutiere (13)
	│		► Phoenix Anka (11)
	│
	│		► W Jr. (43)
Vispilio	┼	ZekiBeyy (194)	► verbakalim (16)
	│		► mandown (12)
	│
	│		► W Jr. (11)
	└	execijutiere (147)	► verbakalim (10)
			► ZekiBeyy (9)
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► zasad@ (270)
	┌	Ratimov (194)	► Julien_Olynpic (270)
	│		► cryptomaxsun (248 )
	│
	│		► Ratimov (102)
klarki	┼	Unbunplease (105)	► klarki (32)
	│		► Julien_Olynpic (29)
	│
	│		► EmmaWu (11)
	└	my luck (100)	► vv181 (9)
			► klarki (9)
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► Vlad2Vlad (84)
	┌	hornetsnest (390)	► realdantreccia (30)
	│		► Apocalipsa (19)
	│
	│		► Bitcoin SV (BSV) (25)
Vlad2Vlad	┼	hv_ (314)	► $romain (22)
	│		► kna (19)
	│
	│		► crowetic (6)
	└	Traxo (241)	► Vlad2Vlad (1)
			► lyynx (1)
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► krogothmanhattan (17)
	┌	Liquidoptions (175)	► galeriademodacom (13)
	│		► Frank AlpenCoin (12)
	│
	│		► krogothmanhattan (25)
krogothmanhattan	┼	MrCryptHodl (115)	► Frank AlpenCoin (21)
	│		► Eclipse33 (18 )
	│
	│		► Frank AlpenCoin (22)
	└	Stryfe (94)	► Liquidoptions (19)
			► Hookzup1 (18 )
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► Cornia (6)
	┌	libert19 (104)	► UserU (5)
	│		► WePiggy (4)
	│
	│		► CryptopreneurBrainboss (57)
nutildah	┼	igehhh (103)	► Charles-Tim (31)
	│		► rdbase (22)
	│
	│		► Ratimov (7)
	└	Raytheon (100)	► SquirrelJulietGarden (2)
			► nutildah (2)
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► Trofo (21)
	┌	icopress (7)	► Lauda (20)
	│		► GazetaBitcoin (15)
	│
	│		► Lauda (30)
Vod	┼	nullius (4)	► Cøbra (10)
	│		► Quickseller (8 )
	│
	│		► mocacinno (183)
	└	LoyceV (4)	► NotATether (179)
			► HCP (171)
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► Rikafip (148 )
	┌	dkbit98 (56)	► FatFork (132)
	│		► TryNinja (69)
	│
	│		► Rath_ (9)
malevolent	┼	Tytanowy Janusz (50)	► as.exchange (6)
	│		► malevolent (5)
	│
	│		► Cookdata (1)
	└	24Kt (41)	►N/A
			►N/A
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► BobLawblaw (22)
	┌	JimboToronto (108 )	► Torque (22)
	│		► El duderino_ (18 )
	│
	│		► El duderino_ (80)
BobLawblaw	┼	Torque (92)	► BobLawblaw (40)
	│		► BitcoinBunny (27)
	│
	│		► BobLawblaw (76)
	└	cAPSLOCK (89)	► El duderino_ (59)
			► Torque (53)
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► bitmover (20)
	┌	joker_josue (127)	► Disruptivas (20)
	│		► Lucasgabd (16)
	│
	│		► TryNinja (20)
bitmover	┼	sabotag3x (108 )	► joker_josue (13)
	│		► alegotardo (11)
	│
	│		► sabotag3x (12)
	└	alegotardo (77)	► TryNinja (11)
			► bitmover (7)
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► The Pharmacist (47)
	┌	Charles-Tim (104)	► Upgrade00 (44)
	│		► hosseinimr93 (44)
	│
	│		► CryptopreneurBrainboss (57)
CryptopreneurBrainboss	┼	igehhh (102)	► Charles-Tim (31)
	│		► rdbase (22)
	│
	│		► Charles-Tim (49)
	└	Upgrade00 (90)	► CryptopreneurBrainboss (48 )
			► o_e_l_e_o (18 )
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► MinoRaiola (27)
	┌	-doubleU- (98 )	► mole0815 (19)
	│		► 1miau (18 )
	│
	│		► bullrun2020bro (67)
tyz	┼	seek3r (88 )	► 1miau (12)
	│		► mole0815 (8 )
	│
	│		► bitcoincidence (47)
	└	MinoRaiola (72)	► -doubleU- (33)
			► mole0815 (28 )
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► ICENI_Spartacus (33)
	┌	eddie13 (55)	► J-Dog (20)
	│		► Poker Player (7)
	│
	│		► Review Master (9)
Royse777	┼	Little Mouse (54)	► LoyceV (8 )
	│		► naim027 (7)
	│
	│		► Maady (6)
	└	JSRAW (45)	► eaLiTy (6)
			► Pffrt (5)
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► DaveF (3)
	┌	jackg (57)	► o_e_l_e_o (3)
	│		► suchmoon (2)
	│
	│		► Mpamaegbu (200)
Jet Cash	┼	The Pharmacist (50)	► ShowOff (199)
	│		► BITCOIN4X (198 )
	│
	│		► HCP (19)
	└	ranochigo (12)	► o_e_l_e_o (19)
			► nutildah (15)
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► libert19 (104)
	┌	nutildah (64)	► igehhh (103)
	│		► Raytheon (100)
	│
	│		► Serious475 (9)
cabalism13	┼	Peanutswar (61)	► Eureka_07 (5)
	│		► so98nn (2)
	│
	│		► Stryfe (9)
	└	TheBeardedBaby (50)	► Frank AlpenCoin (6)
			► LoyceV (6)
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► OmegaStarScream (45)
	┌	khaled0111 (98 )	► yhiaali3 (15)
	│		► mikeywith (14)
	│
	│		► OmegaStarScream (19)
OmegaStarScream	┼	yhiaali3 (46)	► Coinoplex (17)
	│		► Ulven (13)
	│
	│		► julerz12 (11)
	└	Kavelj22 (40)	► khaled0111 (8 )
			► mikeywith (7)
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► Coolcryptovator (14)
	┌	Leviathan.007 (47)	► ScamViruS (13)
	│		► Rikafip (8 )
	│
	│		► Charles-Tim (15)
Coolcryptovator	┼	Coyster (44)	► DdmrDdmr (12)
	│		► CryptopreneurBrainboss (10)
	│
	│		► Baofeng (17)
	└	cryptomaniac_xxx (39)	► Dave1 (8 )
			► MusaMohamed (7)
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► Cornia (34)
	┌	cygan (74)	► El duderino_ (22)
	│		► Pmalek (20)
	│
	│		► -doubleU- (20)
Buchi-88	┼	Lakai01 (56)	► Soonandwaite (14)
	│		► BTCLiz (10)
	│
	│		► Buchi-88 (20)
	└	spirits (51)	► bct_ail (8 )
			► coco23 (7)
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► OmegaStarScream (19)
	┌	yhiaali3 (32)	► Coinoplex (17)
	│		► Ulven (13)
	│
	│		► yhiaali3 (20)
SyGambler	┼	Coinoplex (28 )	► khaled0111 (13)
	│		► mikeywith (10)
	│
	│		► khaled0111 (180)
	└	hugeblack (25)	► OmegaStarScream (156)
			► mikeywith (135)

[bitmover]

Very interesting.
You can see some patterns here.

Patterns will always exists. People do browse the forum by their interests and this has a high potential of creating merit circles/"gangs".

It is also very interesting to note that sometimes the merits do come back. Look here. I merited a few members, and they merited me back, completing the "merit circle"

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► bitmover (20)
	┌	joker_josue (127)	► Disruptivas (20)
	│		► Lucasgabd (16)
	│
	│		► TryNinja (20)
bitmover	┼	sabotag3x (108)	► joker_josue (13)
	│		► alegotardo (11)
	│
	│		► sabotag3x (12)
	└	alegotardo (77)	► TryNinja (11)
			► bitmover (7)
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

What really bugs me is users receiving many merits and not sending enough.
As a merit source, I often question myself about this.

I think about that as well.

When I first joined the forum I noticed that I love to receive merits, but my standard of quality to merit a post was very high. I realized that if every user was like me, I would have received very few merits. So one day I just decided to merit everyone which is a good contributor to the forum, making good posts and/or adding some effort to the posts. Like this merit analysis the OP did. A few months later I became a merit source.

Selecting posts to give merit is not trivial. As a merit source I spend many hours per week meriting posts, and it is an endless job. I have now more than 1000 smerits to spend. If I just sit here for more 30 minutes looking for good posts to merit I will find a LOT.

I still find there are many users holding merit for no reason, which I think might be laziness or something else (vanity or some feeling of superiority trying to meet high standards?)

[joker_josue]

~~

~~

OK! You are right! I forgot to mention another reason for merit: "Topic/post well elaborated/constructed!" 

Nothing escapes you both! That's why they are sources of merits! 

[LoyceV]

Selecting posts to give merit is not trivial. As a merit source I spend many hours per week meriting posts, and it is an endless job. I have now more than 1000 smerits to spend. If I just sit here for more 30 minutes looking for good posts to merit I will find a LOT.

I still find there are many users holding merit for no reason, which I think might be laziness or something else (vanity or some feeling of superiority trying to meet high standards?)

I admit, I'm lazy I don't just search for posts to Merit (unless I'm checking someone's post history), so I need to find them from my normal forum reading. I wouldn't mind dumping 30 times 50 Merit on very good posts, but I don't want to spend days looking for them.

[Pmalek]

I admit, I'm lazy I don't just search for posts to Merit (unless I'm checking someone's post history), so I need to find them from my normal forum reading. I wouldn't mind dumping 30 times 50 Merit on very good posts, but I don't want to spend days looking for them.

Since I became a merit source, I haven't really changed much in the way I send merits except that instead of 1, I can now afford to give 2-3 or more merits for the same type of post because I have a source allocation now. When we are talking about difficulties in finding merit-worthy posts, I am not struggling on that front either. As I read through the threads I find interesting and might reply to, I just merit those posts that I like and that's it.

[Coyster]

I still find there are many users holding merit for no reason, which I think might be laziness or something else (vanity or some feeling of superiority trying to meet high standards?)

I don't really know if I can attribute it to laziness, cause if one is an active user on the forum, and as such posts frequently you must come across good posts frequently, I mean before you post, you must first of all have read at least the OP of the thread you want to comment on, so laziness could prolly not be an excuse, except the user is altogether not really an active one.

Having said that, the case of high standard could come into play, and it's something that's somewhat subjective, in my opinion, I think the users that i could understand if they prolly keep a really high meriting standard is users that aren't merit sources, they could have the mindset that they just have a couple of smerits (sometimes one or two), and they'll want to save it for the very best; but merit sources on the other hand should be more lenient when awarding merits, I know they also run out of it, but they get replenished, and more often than not they have more smerits to give out than an average non-merit source user.

[Mpamaegbu]

Imagine if most people refused meriting legendary users despite their level of posting and a spot opened up in a signature campaign. A legendary member with 4 earned merits in the recent months goes head-to-head with a hero member who has earned 300 in the same period. Who do you think will have the bigger chance to get accepted by most campaign managers?

I don't think that's any issue because I've seen where applicants with no merit for the 120 days period rule were accepted into signature campaigns demanding it. I guess managers now realize that certain users don't get merits not because their posts aren't merit worthy but because their post aren't visible enough for merit awarding members.

I can't agree with that I Merit a post if I think it's worth reading. It's not an endorsement, and it doesn't (necessarily) mean I agree with the post. I sometimes Merit opposing posts in a topic, because they all make valid points.

Yep, that's the same way I feel too. Opposing posts with reasonable angle also gets my attention.

By chance your tree had already been made, on the top page 11-30.  
Does it meet the expectations?

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇	◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
			► CryptopreneurBrainboss (32)
	┌	Mpamaegbu (200)	► Smartvirus (12)
	│		► igehhh (12)
	│
	│		► skarais (21)
The Pharmacist	┼	ShowOff (199)	► MAAManda (12)
	│		► Husna QA (11)
	│
	│		► ShowOff (7)
	└	BITCOIN4X (198)	► Husna QA (6)
			► DdmrDdmr (6)

Incidentally, I topped that tree of his. I'm very glad I did, frankly. When he asked me to remind him periodically to review my posts for merit worthy ones a few months ago, I knew I had to be up and running. He isn't one to be easily swayed owing to his in-depth scrutiny at things. I'm glad he still peruses my posts.