The basic deflation scheme of merits (halve each distribution) is only one of reasons for potential stall.
The changes of activity or inactivity of users is another reason. Ones can earn lots of merits and have lots of smerits to send but what if that user turn into inactive (abandon the forum, inactively for long period, months or years; or ends with death). Merit pool will naturally dry out without merit sources.
Merit sources serve another role. They play as source of merits for good posters, not all users. Theymos does not want to do a second merit airdrop to all users, including many shitposters.
You know had considered the 10 year art contest to serve as a kind of merit airdrop for artist wannabes. Did not really matter too much even if you had good art, as long as you showed some decent efforts, then you received merits in that contest. Furthermore, I am not sure if the reallocation of active merit sources by 175% during mid-November was a quasi-genius move, but such reallocation (largely an increase of sm for the most active of merit sources) surely allowed some merit sources to splurge a bit in their own sending out of smerits, including splurging in such 10-year art contest to be received by those therein active members willing to put some efforts into making a submission within that thread.
Merit sources are free to reveal their source amounts, though I think it may be a bit unwise. While it will eventually become obvious roughly what the source amounts are from the stats, there's a huge difference between showing up in a "list of probable merit sources" and having a quote out there of you basically saying "I'm a merit source, come beg me for merit, complain about every merit I send, and accuse me of being part of the anti-X/pro-Y conspiracy."
I've had very few people beg for Merit, and I've made it clear I'm a source for more than a year and a half now. The funny ones also ask if they can buy my account
Accusations aren't really a problem either, I've seen only a few occasions in which someone questioned the Merit I sent, and although I know I don't have to explain myself, I don't mind doing so either.
You are the gold standard, Loyce.
Most of us mere mortals can only aspire to such, and never really reach it. #nohomo.
Kind of like nullius or satoshi.... .. but you are actually a so-far non-disappearing living example.. hopefully, I am not jinxing this.
(not that I am superstitious)....
The funny ones also ask if they can buy my account
I think everyhing has a price.
And, given your very well knwon position, in a short period of time you could easily build a new account, with all the included benefits.
Say it isn't so...
I would like to wish and hope that everything DOES NOT have a price, but surely even such seemingly perfection like nullius was tricked by alia... so there is that.
