I don't like the low quality posts any more then anyone else, but it gets into a grey area when the forums start getting micromanaged. Like at what point do you have to be afraid that someone thinks your posting just to post? Do we have to be scared to quote something someone said and reply "Hell yeah!" under it because someone thinks we're trying to raise our post count? I've been coming to this forum for the last couple years, but I never registered until December. Actually the way I used it before that was to type questions about mining in Google, then when a result came up from BTT I'd choose the "see more from bitcointalk.org" link and go from there researching whatever problem I had. I was motivated to finally get off my ass and make a real account here as the result of a signature campaign, but I would say that's defintely not a bad thing. I know what I'm talking about at this point, (you probably didn't want to hear much from me for awhile when I was still learning anyways), I like to think I have meaningful contributions to discussions, and I've had some great conversations with some great people since then. With a forum related to something as international as Bitcoin there's going to be alot more people who don't speak great english too, and I feel bad for them also, as many of them probably have no ulterior motives for the less then clear and concise posts other then that they really don't know any better. I am glad that the forum isn't a free for all, and that there is accountability, and I do appreciate that alot of people are working really hard to try and make it better. It's definetly a double edged sword, I just always like to give people the benefit of doubt, and I believe that most people are good, they just usually don't have a chance to be or they have been burned so many times they become jaded. But goodness is like a root. A little water and you got some fresh sprouts.
You just got one merit
I've been here for rather a long time. And, like you, I lurked even longer than that. Despite real life experience, gmaxwell even called me the "voice of reason" at one point. Something I'd never been accused of prior to Bitcointalk
But I digress. Guys like you, and I, were far more common about 4 years ago. Then BTC and other Cryptos got to the edges of the mainstream, and we have gotten a steady stream of people (young, I'm guessing), who, for lack of a better way to put it, are a waste of carbon. I'm not talking about a new guy with something to say who just does it wrong, I'm talking about people trying to raise their post count simply by, well, posting. Nothing. Sometimes literally an asterisk.
At the same time, the moderators were implementing rules that seemed to target actual content instead of the vague idiocy. I know from talking to them that this was not actually the intent, but it came off that way.
I think this system makes more sense, to be honest. Not sure how it'll play out, here in Mos Eisely, but it's certainly an improvement!