The merit system WOULD be a good one if only people would actually give the merit to whom deserves it.
I have lost count of the times I answered questions, provided links with the solutions and got absolutely nothing in return.
So, I don't think it is THE solution and frankly I am not fully happy about it.
Give it time. theymos has already said that he's willing to make adjustments if need be. To my understanding, he wants activity to
still be the limiting factor when it comes to ranking up, so even the average joes should be able to rank up without problems if they just contribute. Source:
I'll see how things are in a month or two and think about it. Basically, the "ideal new user" should be able to easily and without any particular "merit farming" be able to far exceed the merit requirements; for them, activity should be the limiting factor. If this is not achievable, then I absolutely will make tweaks until that goal is reached. But it's too early to say at this point.
I did consider a 1-point requirement for Member when designing the system, but I thought it might be too easy. We'll see.
Then again, he could only be talking about the transition to the Member rank, which is basically 10 merits in 60 days. Either way, he wants the whole process to be easier.