I don't agree with disabling anyone from the WO thread, just as I didn't support disabling merit-giving in there. I think it's good you sparked this discussion and named names, OP. Hopefully the problem can be worked out without resorting to appeals to Theymos to lay down new restrictions (which he probably wouldn't do anyhow).
Didn't realize there was a prime offender, either, however I don't suspect JJG is colluding with shitposters in order to rank them up. He hands out a ton of merits, and I just think he's generous in that respect (though I could be completely wrong; I've been fooled before). However, I don't doubt that the idiots who are posting all of that Twitter shit have caught on to what gets merited and are taking full advantage of the WO thread.
On a related note, I've gotten criticism for my offer to review post histories--not much, and it's been via PM, but nevertheless I'm aware that I'm being watched. And that's good. But what outsiders don't see is how many PMs I send to members saying that their posts don't meet my standards for merit, and believe me there have been many--especially after I received some honest feedback from a member I respect. Maybe that's what JJG needs, and maybe this thread and the comments in it will serve the same function. Maybe, perhaps?
As much as I see good sense in what you constructed up there, calling out JayJuanGee in your title and conclusion is uncalled for.
I don't have a grasp on the magnitude of the problem, though I have seen that JJG usually gives 1 merit when a post is mediocre, but I disagree that he shouldn't be called out if he's a big part of the problem (and if it's a big problem to begin with). He could hand out 1 merit/post, but that thread has how many posts in it? It's a lot last I checked, so those merits could add up quickly.
And just saying, if I was doing something the community thought was inappropriate I'd hope I'd be called out on it either in a thread or, as already happened, by PM. Then again, that's just me. Some folks would react to a thread like this with extreme defensiveness and it could end up being counterproductive. At least it gives everyone a chance to voice their opinion, though.