Does sMerit actually Decay?

[Curious T]

Based off my personal speculations I think the admins will only probably use it in a case where there could be excess merit in circulation then they might just burn up some existing ones. Then again like I said I'm just adding this up here as a speculation not really facts.

It could also be if the account has been inactive for a long time. I think that is a logical reason for sMerit to decay. Like you, I'm just speculating. If it were up to me, that would be a reason to make it decay. How about merit sources? How does it work? Does the sMerit they get decay if they don't send it within a specific period?

[osasshem]

I think the sMerit decays after a considerable period of time, which can be determined by themos. In a situation you have not been on the forum for a while or have not received merits for a long period of time as well, there is possibility that you may not have any sMerit, cause in every merit you get, you earn a 0.5 sMerit.

In the actual sense, the moderator has more actions on this than anybody or anything that can be said.

[LOVER BOY 422]

or is it only a write up?

It's actually a write up but a deep information telling you that they could decide to decay those smerit at any time in the future. The information is not specific about the duration of time it will take for the decay to be done but it's something they might do depending on some circumstances or something that will not be done. It's a decision that has never been take but you must be aware that they have the right to decay it at any point in time if they want to. If you are looking for someone that has experienced it before, I doubt anyone has, there has never been any complaint about that since I came to the forum.

You are very correct Smerits can't decay but it should be given to anyone whom you fine their post worthy to be merit, no point keeping it for long anyway, but I haven't heard it can decay before, just check in the forum a good and constructive post you can merit that is what Smerits represents, don't just keep it.

[Hypnotizer]

Each time I see this pop up I begin to wonder how it works and what it means by sMerit decay.  How long can the sMerit last without getting decayed or is it only a write up? Has anybody's own decayed and how long did it take to happen. I'm curious and really want to understand what it means by sMerit decay and its possibility and timeframe.

Since when I came to this forum I’ve never heard of or seen anything about smerits decaying and I don’t think I has ever happen, from the replies you’ve got above I’m sure you’ve clear your curiosity about this topic.

Well from my perspective, I think this particular phrase was added there to emphasize why hoarding smerits isn’t a good thing because there’s a very good possibility that it can decay if you continue hoarding it and that’s why it’s not profitable, it wouldn’t benefits you and you don’t have the assurance that it will forever be there, so you rather spend it on post you find worthy..

[DYING_S0UL]

There is an exception when it comes to merit sources. Theymos allocates each merit sources certain amount of sMerits every momth, for them to distribute throughout the month. Now if I understand correctly, if left unused, the sMerits will get a reset after the month is over. But we aren't talking about that here.

Merit sources have two types of sendable merits. The usual sMerits like everyone else, generated when someone merits your post, and source merits that go in a separate pool. They first have to spend all of their source merits to begin spending sMerits. If they never manage to do that because of big source merit allocations, merit sources will have a big amount of sMerits in their accounts that keeps growing but doesn't get spent or rarely gets spent.

Well this is news to me. I mean I knew there were 2 types of sMerits when it comes to merit sources, but the way they worked was totally unknown to me. The fact about, merit sources spending their allocated sMerits before they could spend the earned sMerit, I wasn't aware of it. I'm curious about how does the whole interface looks like, I mean like does it says, "You have X amount of allocated source sMerits, and Y amount of earned sMerit remain"? Also, how much a merit source typically gets? (referring to a range like 100-500-1000, not any specific amount).

[adultcrypto]

Oh, that means the merit given to merit sources are quite different from the merit received? That means that merit sources are obligated to spend all monthly.

Yes, all the merit that merit source are auto-generating have to be spent because of this reason. But the smerit that the merit source are receiving from the merit sent to them by other members which is 1 smerit from 2 merits received, it can not decay just like other members that are not merit source which their smerits can not also decay.

Based on what we have seen in the forum, smerits does not decay especially those earned through conversation in the forum, however, the statement "we reserve the right to decay unused sMerit in the future" means that smerits can be frozen but I don't know what may lead to that. Meanwhile, You should be right about those allocated to merit sources, if they do not spend them, their source merits will just get replenished with the number they are allocated unless Theymos raise their source merit allocation. 

What I still do not understand is if merit sources are given the freedom to chose to send from their source smerits or earned smerits.

[Decimetre]

Each time I see this pop up I begin to wonder how it works and what it means by sMerit decay.  How long can the sMerit last without getting decayed or is it only a write up? Has anybody's own decayed and how long did it take to happen. I'm curious and really want to understand what it means by sMerit decay and its possibility and timeframe.

Since when I came to this forum I’ve never heard of or seen anything about smerits decaying and I don’t think I has ever happen, from the replies you’ve got above I’m sure you’ve clear your curiosity about this topic.

Yes mate, I think I'm fed already, the knowledge gap is closed already and I can say that I got a good explanation to what I asked. Sometimes we only assume to know without truly knowing anything. The early days I read the write up was when I started monitoring my sMerit thinking it would decay but it wasn't happening. Each day when I still click to send a merit, I read the same thing. But now, it's clear that sMerit doesn't decay, except for administrative reasons/decisions.

Well from my perspective, I think this particular phrase was added there to emphasize why hoarding smerits isn’t a good thing because there’s a very good possibility that it can decay if you continue hoarding it and that’s why it’s not profitable, it wouldn’t benefits you and you don’t have the assurance that it will forever be there, so you rather spend it on post you find worthy..

Well I already learnt that sMerit does not decay so you won't confuse me anymore. I have seen somewhere that I read that Merit has no formula but based on individual perceptions about a post. Therefore one may not establish if another is hoarding his sMerit or actually has not found your post merit worthy. If there was a general standard, you can hold anyone accountable for not meriting a post.

There is an exception when it comes to merit sources. Theymos allocates each merit sources certain amount of sMerits every momth, for them to distribute throughout the month. Now if I understand correctly, if left unused, the sMerits will get a reset after the month is over. But we aren't talking about that here.

Merit sources have two types of sendable merits. The usual sMerits like everyone else, generated when someone merits your post, and source merits that go in a separate pool. They first have to spend all of their source merits to begin spending sMerits. If they never manage to do that because of big source merit allocations, merit sources will have a big amount of sMerits in their accounts that keeps growing but doesn't get spent or rarely gets spent.

Well this is news to me. I mean I knew there were 2 types of sMerits when it comes to merit sources, but the way they worked was totally unknown to me. The fact about, merit sources spending their allocated sMerits before they could spend the earned sMerit, I wasn't aware of it. I'm curious about how does the whole interface looks like, I mean like does it says, "You have X amount of allocated source sMerits, and Y amount of earned sMerit remain"? Also, how much a merit source typically gets? (referring to a range like 100-500-1000, not any specific amount).

Learning is continuous mate. I'm glad that a Legend learned something new out of my curiosity and I feel fly. The merit system must be more complicated than we all see or understand.

[EL MOHA]

Meanwhile, You should be right about those allocated to merit sources, if they do not spend them, their source merits will just get replenished with the number they are allocated unless Theymos raise their source merit allocation. 

What I still do not understand is if merit sources are given the freedom to chose to send from their source smerits or earned smerits.

I think the smerits are not actually separated or each having a different field, what I think happens is that its combined with the airdropped smerit given to them so there is no need to actually be sending from the different sources. Although I am not sure and i think your might be right.

But I usually see that merit sources haven’t actually explain here that it’s a different field rather they simply just say they were able the send more smerits because they earned more plus their airdropped one. But your suggestion is actually a great one for me

[vapourminer]

What I still do not understand is if merit sources are given the freedom to chose to send from their source smerits or earned smerits.

we can not choose from which to send, sent smerits always come from our merit source allocation 1st. when that hits zero then it comes out of our earned smerits

[Lida93]

It could also be if the account has been inactive for a long time. I think that is a logical reason for sMerit to decay. Like you, I'm just speculating. If it were up to me, that would be a reason to make it decay. How about merit sources? How does it work? Does the sMerit they get decay if they don't send it within a specific period?

I doubt if s'merits do ever get decayed by the admins even though it's something they reserve the right to but it seems they don't bother doing it since the merits can always be regenerated to merit sources for distribution through quality posts of forum users. Look at  it this way, if really s'merits get decayed due to a long time of an account dormancy then someone would have raised a question about why they never saw their s'merits on returning back to awake their account after a long time.

As for your last question, yes. Merit sources me Rita do decay at the end of the most of they fail to spend it, but they get a regenerated quota in the new month again, and so it goes on.

[SquirrelJulietGarden]

I doubt if s'merits do ever get decayed by the admins even though it's something they reserve the right to

It has never applied by forum admins and since January 2018 when merit system kicked off, there is no smerit decay at least so far.

As for your last question, yes. Merit sources me Rita do decay at the end of the most of they fail to spend it, but they get a regenerated quota in the new month again, and so it goes on.

It's not like decay of sendable merit for merit sources. Because with merit sources, their sourced sendable merit will be refilled to their caps of 30-days period. Like a merit with 100 sourced sendable merit cap for 30 days, will have not receive more than 100 smerit during 30 days, but if that merit source does not spend all 100 smerit during 30 days, it will stay there. If he spent only 10 smerit, the 90 smerit will stay while another next 10 smerit will be refilled after 30 days.

[Pmalek]

Oh, that means the merit given to merit sources are quite different from the merit received? That means that merit sources are obligated to spend all monthly.

They are not forced to spend it all and it's not always possible if you don't find enough merit-worthy posts. Some merit sources have bigger allocations than others. No one is required to be a merit source either. I can't remember if theymos asks beforehand if you want to become a merit source or just tells you that you have been selected and informs you what your total allocation is. Either way, you can always say, no I don't want to do that. But if you accept, it's only natural that you will go around distributing the source merits.

Well this is news to me. I mean I knew there were 2 types of sMerits when it comes to merit sources, but the way they worked was totally unknown to me. The fact about, merit sources spending their allocated sMerits before they could spend the earned sMerit, I wasn't aware of it. I'm curious about how does the whole interface looks like, I mean like does it says, "You have X amount of allocated source sMerits, and Y amount of earned sMerit remain"? Also, how much a merit source typically gets? (referring to a range like 100-500-1000, not any specific amount).

The interface of a merit source shows how many sMerits they have, like on any other account. Below that, there is a new section that tells the person that they are a merit source and shows the number of available source merits. The notification also says that the following x merits they send will be spent from their source allocation and not their sMerits count.

The allocations are different. Some merit sources could have as little as 50, others have 100, 200, maybe even 500 or more. Only the admins know for sure and the sources themselves. Spent source merits get replenished in 30 days.

What I still do not understand is if merit sources are given the freedom to chose to send from their source smerits or earned smerits.

No, you can't choose. First you spend the source merits and when they go to 0 you spend sMerits.

[adultcrypto]

What I still do not understand is if merit sources are given the freedom to chose to send from their source smerits or earned smerits.

we can not choose from which to send, sent smerits always come from our merit source allocation 1st. when that hits zero then it comes out of our earned smerits

Thank you for this explanation that have satisfied my curiosity. I remembered in one of those April fool pranks that some people got negative smerits, some merit sources made comments about having thousands of unspent smerits,  since then I have been wondering if they were allocated that much but your explanation just solved that puzzle and what I now understand is that they have only been spending their source merits and rarely hit the limits which is why their earned smerits kept increasing.

[osasshem]

A Legendary member who hasn't posted in the last year would still be Legendary, but would not have any spendable merit.

Going through the merit/rank up requirements, theymos said as quoted above, which I think that a period of one year might be the period at which the decay may occur, based on the quote above, I think this duration is the actual time for such thing as decay to occur to any forum member's smerit. If a legendary member can lose all his spendable merit because of inactivity for at least a year, same thing is likely to happen to lower ranking members.

[Marvelockg]

A Legendary member who hasn't posted in the last year would still be Legendary, but would not have any spendable merit.

Going through the merit/rank up requirements, theymos said as quoted above, which I think that a period of one year might be the period at which the decay may occur, based on the quote above, I think this duration is the actual time for such thing as decay to occur to any forum member's smerit. If a legendary member can lose all his spendable merit because of inactivity for at least a year, same thing is likely to happen to lower ranking members.

For a forum member that has remained inactive on the forum for a year without earning a single merit, sending a single merit, or making a post, he might  experience that because his merit history will completely disappear before then and such account coming back to the forum might even be treated as one of those wake up account.

except for a case of complete exit from the forum for a temporary course, it is not right to hold merit and not send it out knowing that people are still complaining of lack in merit circulation on the forum.

[TypoTonic]

A Legendary member who hasn't posted in the last year would still be Legendary, but would not have any spendable merit.

Going through the merit/rank up requirements, theymos said as quoted above, which I think that a period of one year might be the period at which the decay may occur, based on the quote above, I think this duration is the actual time for such thing as decay to occur to any forum member's smerit. If a legendary member can lose all his spendable merit because of inactivity for at least a year, same thing is likely to happen to lower ranking members.

If that's the case, then the warning should explicitly say that "unused sMerit will decay after 1 year of inactivity", but instead it says "we reserve the right to decay unused sMerit in the future".

You left out an important part of the quote. Here's what it says in full:

Trivia:

For current members, your initial merit score is equal to the minimum required to your rank. Of that, a certain amount (less than the usual half) is spendable. The spendable amount was calculated based on your current rank and the number of activity points you earned in the last year. A Legendary member who hasn't posted in the last year would still be Legendary, but would not have any spendable merit.

This was during the initial merit airdrop. If I understand correctly, users who had 0 activity a year prior to the launch of the merit system didn't get any sMerit.

[notocactus]

This was during the initial merit airdrop. If I understand correctly, users who had 0 activity a year prior to the launch of the merit system didn't get any sMerit.

It's not quite true because you shared information about the initial merit distribution but later, theymos decided to make two adjustments, that are quoted below.

The exact formula was:

Code:

yearActivity = activity in the last ~year, max 378
freeMerit = the merit (not sMerit) you started with
modifier =
  0.1 if member
  0.2 if full member
  0.25 if sr member
  0.35 if hero
  0.4 if legendary

return (yearActivity/378) * modifier * freeMerit

So the most you could get is if you were a Legendary who maxed out your activity points in the last year, in which case you would get 1 * 0.4 * 1000 = 400 sMerit.

Note that I later made an adjustment giving 500 extra merit to some hero members, but no extra sMerit was given here.

I'll probably publish a dump of the initial sMerit at some point.

I decided that the previous allocation was too unfair in this area, so everyone with activity >= 775 got 500 more merit if they didn't already have 1000 merit (and also Lutpin). No extra sMerit, though.

[hosemary]

Going through the merit/rank up requirements, theymos said as quoted above, which I think that a period of one year might be the period at which the decay may occur, based on the quote above,

The statement you quoted from theymos has nothing to do with decay of unused smerit.

If I understand correctly, users who had 0 activity a year prior to the launch of the merit system didn't get any sMerit.

It says those users who hadn't earned any activity during the one year period didn't get any airdropped smerit.