There's enough merits, if hoarders aren't selfish.

[pawanjain]

Are you tracking people whether they are hoarding their merits or not ?
Unless you are using bpip tool to monitor different users on the forum it will be really difficult to tell if the people are hoarding their merits or not.

You remember the names eventually. Let's say I wanted to merit you but I never checked your profile. I would visit it and click on your merit stats. It takes me two seconds to see if you are sending merits. I would expect anyone who receives merits to spend them as well. I don't care how, in which quantities, or to which users. I just like to see them being circled.

That would work well if you want to verify whether a person is sending merits but only on a high level.
Suppose my merit stats show that I haven't sent any merits (even that is only for the last 120 days) but that doesn't mean I am a merit hoarder.
What if I don't really have any merits to send and I have sent it all already?
I might have not received any merits in the last 120 days and so I couldn't send it to others as well. 

[Pmalek]

Suppose my merit stats show that I haven't sent any merits (even that is only for the last 120 days) but that doesn't mean I am a merit hoarder.
What if I don't really have any merits to send and I have sent it all already?
I might have not received any merits in the last 120 days and so I couldn't send it to others as well. 

Obviously, if you haven't received any merits in the last 120 days, I can't expect you to send any. I don't expect the same from newbies either. I am not doing any lengthy checks on each user whose post I want to merit. Like I said, I would just look if you are receiving and sending. In your case, you are doing both. I don't care about the numbers. But let's say your stats look different than what they are now. You have received enough merits to have sMerits to send, but you aren't sending any. 9/10 times I wouldn't merit your post because of that. 

[nutildah]

Personally speaking, I have no desire to help members who join the Eloncoin sig campaign to rank up. In general, it proves the bar for campaign entry is far too low around here, and it makes me want to be stingy with my merits.

To be fair, I looked through your posts and they are better than the average account in your campaign. Although this one was kind of weird:

...
Still, considering the fact that most human text are almost as similar to AI text, I think we as humans should endeavor to make purposeful mistakes repeatedly in perhaps tenses or spelling of words so as to show we are humans, because I believe one reason why there's a confusion when trying to distinguish human from AI essays is the perfection that exists mostly in the scientific uses of tenses and grammar.

I'd say its more like some people take the time to make sure what they're writing makes sense, and others don't -- mainly because they are in a rush to crank out shitposts.

[ABCbits]

that means you could have at least 1358 sMerits (excluding source).

3990

With such amount, i agree you're likely in 1st position . After all, there are very few member who receive more than 7980 merits.

The only problem is not lack of quality and merit worthy posts. Amidst low quality posts, there are still posts which cross the average benchmark that ought to receive merits. The problem could be that most of our merit sources have high standards for giving out merits and it's rare for their standards to be met by an average forum user.

Merit sources are human. They can't see and be all over the place ready to merit anything and everything that deserves it. Don't forget that it's a manual task, you can't automate it.
--snip--

In addition, admin doesn't pay them while AFAIK admin pay moderator.

[Cryptomultiplier]

I'm probably the biggest sMerit hoarder on the forum, and if not, I'm certain I'm in the Top 5. I'm also the Top 1 most generous Merit sender. What does this tell you? Nothing

Merit isn't scarce. Good posts are.

What qualifies as a good post, according to your standards?

I ask so because maybe merit sources should find a way to let the forum know what they stand for; that is their principles and what determines them to qualify a post as quality or not.  Or is that better kept a secret?
In this way, maybe everyone both newbies and oldies would learn to employ this and create better post that would surely warrant the merits and upmovement of this forum in general.

[Pmalek]

In addition, admin doesn't pay them while AFAIK admin pay moderator.

I think if we were to be paid for distributing merits, it would only negatively affect the distribution. It's best we don't go there. Imagine if the admin were to introduce some kind of satoshi per merit rate. It wouldn't take long before the posts that usually got 1-2 merits from user X started receiving 5 from the same individual. Or if we were paid based on how many unique members we merited. People would be searching for posts from users they haven't merited yet.

What qualifies as a good post, according to your standards?

Anything that shows you made an effort to write it or you displayed knowledge. 

[Halab]

What qualifies as a good post, according to your standards?

I ask so because maybe merit sources should find a way to let the forum know what they stand for; that is their principles and what determines them to qualify a post as quality or not.  Or is that better kept a secret?
In this way, maybe everyone both newbies and oldies would learn to employ this and create better post that would surely warrant the merits and upmovement of this forum in general.

For me:
A good post is one that smells brain juice.
A good post is one where at the end of the reading you don't say to yourself  "Fuck, I have wasted X seconds/minutes of my life".
A good post is one that doesn't try to get merits, they will come naturally if you respect the first 2 points.
If there was an easy way for everyone to get merits, I would probably be one of the first MS not to give any.

[Richbased]

What qualifies as a good post, according to your standards?

I ask so because maybe merit sources should find a way to let the forum know what they stand for; that is their principles and what determines them to qualify a post as quality or not.  Or is that better kept a secret?
In this way, maybe everyone both newbies and oldies would learn to employ this and create better post that would surely warrant the merits and upmovement of this forum in general.

For me:
A good post is one that smells brain juice.
A good post is one where at the end of the reading you don't say to yourself  "Fuck, I have wasted X seconds/minutes of my life".
A good post is one that doesn't try to get merits, they will come naturally if you respect the first 2 points.
If there was an easy way for everyone to get merits, I would probably be one of the first MS not to give any.

A think I'm comfortable with your definition of good posts as those are the qualities that a good post should portray because some people literally thinks that after making some few posts that they must earn merit instantly but that is not the case because Theymos emphasized more on the need to only award merits to high quality contents and not some gibberish.

I like your third point of a good post because it reminds me of when I started making posts in the forum and I didn't earn any merit and I was feeling so bad and I increased my level of research not until a day I logged in and saw I've got some Merits on my profile and was from a reputable staff of the forum, it made me engage more in making good posts and the merits kept coming till I ranked up to full member but now it's very unfortunate that most newbies now are after ranking up quick and start earning from signature campaigns but just like @hugeblack said that signature campaigns are just for fun because they come and go so the payments can't be reliable to earn a living from it considering the fact that the payments are low and real life jobs and business are more profitable and guaranteed than signature campaign payments so we need to be more devoted to quality rather than quantity because even the merits we earn is also part of fun because when the merit system was not introduced people were still ranking up and making quality posts so there is nothing too important about getting merits.

[EarnOnVictor]

Mind you, there's a difference between hoarders and merit sources, to begin with.

What's your opinion?

What a smart move for differentiating merit sources and hoarders. But at the same time, a merit source could be a hoarder still even as non-merit sources can also be hoarders.

In my opinion, as you asked, you are making sense, that's how it is judging by the way things are currently. The merit will go more around the quality posters of the forum if hoarders desist from it and give it cheerfully to the deserving posts. However, no thanks to the attitude met on the ground by many who now replicate it all the same, it caused what we see today and may continue.

Regardless, many are receiving it massively, it may only not be even. Stopping sentimental sending will also go a long way though people like to deny that part.

[SamReomo]

Mind you, there's a difference between hoarders and merit sources, to begin with.

What's your opinion?

Yes, there's a difference between hoarders and merit sources. The prior ones earn merits to gain sMerits while the later ones get a fixed or varying amount of merits per month. The merit sources could be hoarders if I'm not wrong because it's their decision to send merits to which worthy posts while the hoarders that you tried to mention can't be merit sources unless they properly make a merit source application thread and wait for Theymos's decision.

Now back to the main topic, the sMerits those hoarders earn aren't given to them easily because they try their best to make very high quality posts/threads, and sometimes despite making good quality posts/threads they won't get any merits. The sMerits they earn are 1/2 of the merits the earn from their posts/threads and that's why they contribute those sMerits to either someone whose posts/threads they like or they send it to whoever's posts/threads they prefer. It's their own decision to either hold those sMerits or send those to someone who deserves those sMerits, and no one can or should force them to send or not send the sMerits that they have.

[Zoomic]

What qualifies as a good post, according to your standards?

I ask so because maybe merit sources should find a way to let the forum know what they stand for; that is their principles and what determines them to qualify a post as quality or not.  Or is that better kept a secret?
In this way, maybe everyone both newbies and oldies would learn to employ this and create better post that would surely warrant the merits and upmovement of this forum in general.

For me:
A good post is one that smells brain juice.
A good post is one where at the end of the reading you don't say to yourself  "Fuck, I have wasted X seconds/minutes of my life".
A good post is one that doesn't try to get merits, they will come naturally if you respect the first 2 points.
If there was an easy way for everyone to get merits, I would probably be one of the first MS not to give any.

This explains perfectly what a post deserving of merits should possess. Merit sources are vested with the duty of giving merits to those deserving of it. This days quality posters are just few in the forum, majority here (especially those in paid campaigns) are only  posting to meetup with targets for the week.  Do we want merit sources to distribute merits out of compassion to shit posters and spammers? Because that is one fast way of disposing off merits. I do not think anyone would want to hoard Smerits for no just reason as those Smerits will not be useful to them, except OP has more revelations he isn't telling us about.

[Accardo]

Even if the merit was to be given easily as if it were to be social media platforms, where everyone is a “like" source, it wouldn't go round. Merits circulates faster on this forum than “likes" do on social media were there are no merit sources. Anybody can like any post, but not everyone gets multiple likes. Why is it so? Don't forget that quality plays a vital role in today's world. Take the merit sources off your mind, it's not worth the worry. They owe no explanation to this.

No matter where you are. If your post is quality and engaging, people would send out merits. And the beauty of sMerit is that a single user can send multiple merits. A post can get 50 merits just from a single user. And sometimes a reader who genuinely got intrigued by a post may not appreciate it because they have no sMerit to give. They'll bookmark the post, some sort of, and merit once they've got some sMerit on them. What's my point?

Don't expect that a post that didn't get merited after 10 days of its creation wouldn't get merited again. A post can get its first merit after a month of its creation. Most times the post you don't expect to get merited tend to get the most merit. Like a staff said above, the post should be natural. Forum members are not bunches of bots, programmed to work in similar ways. Members have to relate to what you're saying before reacting through sending out merits, as an insignia for their interest on the post. Maybe it solved a problem they were just about seeking its answer on this forum.

[leonair]

Mind you, there's a difference between hoarders and merit sources, to begin with.

What's your opinion?

Everyone who gets merit here gets merit for a good posting. The exchange of merit is going on naturally, and very few people retain merit. And those who keep maids are not active in the forum; it seems that it has been a few days or a long time.

I believe that the concept of retaining merit should be viewed in a positive light, as it ensures a fair distribution of merit. If an individual consistently maintains the quality and quantity of their posts, they should rightfully earn merit.

The merits that Themos gives are for proper use, not to be misused, and if someone misuses them and puts them on the stone, they should be reported.

[LFC_Bitcoin]

I'm probably the biggest sMerit hoarder on the forum, and if not, I'm certain I'm in the Top 5. I'm also the Top 1 most generous Merit sender. What does this tell you? Nothing

Merit isn't scarce. Good posts are.

Absolutely agree, there isn’t a need for more Merit sources. It seems to me that the people here advocating for more Merit sources are low ranked, low quality posters desperate for more Merit which would enable them to rank up and earn money from signature campaigns.

Maybe if they make a bit more effort to be a helpful member of the forum and make clear, concise, constructive posts they will get what they want (more Merits) to rank up and all of a sudden it’ll be clear that more Merit sources aren‘t required and better posting is what’s required.

Receiving lots of Merits should be hard to achieve, that’s the whole point, to encourage good posting and constructive posting habits. If theymos was to vastly increase the number of Merit sources it’s likely it’d be easier to receive Merit which cheapens it and means it’s easier to receive. The forum would be full of spam and low quality posts. Nothing good in life ever comes easily, try harder.

[_BlackStar]

Receiving lots of Merits should be hard to achieve, that’s the whole point, to encourage good posting and constructive posting habits. If theymos was to vastly increase the number of Merit sources it’s likely it’d be easier to receive Merit which cheapens it and means it’s easier to receive. The forum would be full of spam and low quality posts. Nothing good in life ever comes easily, try harder.

I really like the last line in your post - it's definitely true.

I agree with your assumption - but in certain local board, the number of merit distributed is so low every month that many users are starting to expand to global board in forum and try everything to earn merit. Some of them really seem like merit fishing - but that's the reality. So in my opinion - for certain cases, adding some new merit sources might be an effective solution to increase the flow of merit on certain board including local board.

If what I said is wrong - I don't think @hugeblack will receive many requests on his thread.

[Merit] Share your best local board posts/topics

[mirakal]

Mind you, there's a difference between hoarders and merit sources, to begin with.

What's your opinion?

Everyone who gets merit here gets merit for a good posting. The exchange of merit is going on naturally, and very few people retain merit. And those who keep maids are not active in the forum; it seems that it has been a few days or a long time.

I believe that the concept of retaining merit should be viewed in a positive light, as it ensures a fair distribution of merit. If an individual consistently maintains the quality and quantity of their posts, they should rightfully earn merit.

The merits that Themos gives are for proper use, not to be misused, and if someone misuses them and puts them on the stone, they should be reported.

Merit is meant to be given for those who deserved it, as it’s never meant to just keep and hoard it. That’s actually how merits should serve its purpose, not on the other way around.

Unfortunately, not all good posters are given the opportunity to be merited, some who are only be making lower quality of post are even get merited. In this case, it’s obvious that merits do not actually serve its real purpose, otherwise this issue in the forum won’t be made at all.

[Franctoshi]

I'm probably the biggest sMerit hoarder on the forum, and if not, I'm certain I'm in the Top 5. I'm also the Top 1 most generous Merit sender. What does this tell you? Nothing

Merit isn't scarce. Good posts are.

What qualifies as a good post, according to your standards?

I ask so because maybe merit sources should find a way to let the forum know what they stand for; that is their principles and what determines them to qualify a post as quality or not.  Or is that better kept a secret?
In this way, maybe everyone both newbies and oldies would learn to employ this and create better post that would surely warrant the merits and upmovement of this forum in general.

From what I have observed from members I admire their quality of post and from my experience of quality of post is that, it mostly comes from your experiences and how vast you are in making researches online, and thereby helping people solve those problem questions here by providing a tangible answers and solutions from what you've known or have learned, So there's no two ways about this, because you can only offer what you have in terms post quality, the more research you do, the more you become experienced and add more value too.

And when we talk about quality of post, yes I know it happens sometimes even when your post is of good quality the merits aren't coming, well, that won't stop you from doing what you are doing, whereas I have seen a situation where the merits keeps flowing, it happens both ways. Maybe sometimes It could be that a merit source person hasn't found them merit worthy base on their own personal reasons or kind of think new profiles are becoming increasingly created that some profiles aren't getting the attention.