With this new function, i think that only member that are already member rank or higher before today get Merit point because it's free one time Merit point. and the other with lower rank will never get enough Merit point to up level.
From where I stand I'm equally likely to merit a noob or a legendary... as long as the post is worth it.
What will happen if use all the sMerit I have? Do I get more?
0.5 for each merit you get.