I think begging for merit is demeaning, and not something that members should do.
I've started to ignore members who beg for merit in a post. This means that I can't see their posts now or in the future, and I will not be able to award them sMerits regardless of the quality of their posting.

I'm sad that I have to do this, but there seems to be a new trend developing - posters cut and paste an article, and then beg for merit for doing it.