I don't agree with the first part, that we don't need more merit sources. I think we do. Even if the total amount of good posts remains the same, I think it might be taking a little too long for those good members to rank up. More sources could alleviate some of that while still keeping the shitposters at Jr. Member for eternity. I don't think having more merit sources would result in bad posts earning any merit, though I suppose that's possible--but that's why applications to be one should be vetted carefully.
I've just sent you my remaining one sMerit to give for quality posters. It's nice to know that even you had noticed that we still need more Merit Sources and I do agree with that as well. Actually, I have seen a lot of good posts lately but since I don't have enough merits to give, I just gave a few of them as I'm saving my sMerits for those members who will need it a lot (Although you didn't need my last Merit, I still gave it to you
). It only shows that sources are not enough and it is still difficult for them to locate those quality posts.
Needing better posters is glaringly obvious to anyone who can read. I do agree that there needs to be a better way of finding posts that need merits. Some months ago, we had threads being made by members who had some merits to give out, asking people to "apply" for some merits. Inevitably, all the shitposters on the forum would flock to those threads, and they became a mess. Actmyname had such a thread going and he even said he'd give out neutral trust if shitposters wasted his time--and of course they didn't read that warning and did it anyway.
I also made a thread where I merit members who can provide helpful threads before but eventually I only Merited one member because all remaining posts provided by other users are totally not too helpful nor having any sense. I also participated in actmyname's "14 Merits for quality posts" (can't remember the exact title of the threads) a couple of months ago and end up having a Neutral trust as I'm considered as a spammer. But fortunately, he removed it as I improved my posts quality
All I want to say is, giving sMerits for members who can provide quality posts aren't bad idea at all. So that, it won't be difficult for Merit Sources to look for good posts.
It will also be better if every local board has it's own trusted, reputable, and responsible Merit sources.
I'm sure there would be abuse with shitposters working really hard on one post, submitting it, and then continuing to put no effort whatsoever into their other posts.
Those are the kind of users I encountered before in my thread. They will submit a "somehow good posts" and "somehow merit-able" but since the rest of their posts are totally trash, I ignored giving them any Smerits and leaving them good advice that they should improve their selves. They are only making a single thread where they can possibly receive Merits and then continue spamming again.