Quote from: Jet Cash on February 01, 2018, 11:24:21 AM

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.

Begging for merit is revolting, reprehensible. In part, it can be addressed through the forums technical features as you just said, or as hilariousetc said:

Quote from: hilariousetc on February 01, 2018, 03:19:41 PM

Begging for merit should be treated the same as begging for bitcoin and either threads trashed or posts removed,

(Thanks; I will keep that in mind with my trigger finger on the Report to moderator button.) ...or, as Lauda said:

Quote from: Lauda on February 01, 2018, 03:29:46 PM

Begging for merit should be treated as attempting to trust farm. Therefore, those begging for merit should be permanently neg. rated IMO.

However, begging for merit is a social problem; and social problems need social solutions. Quoting part of what I myself said on the subject a few days ago:

Quote from: nullius on January 30, 2018, 11:34:22 PM

Requests for merit must be declared extreme rudeness, a forum faux pas. Such a thing is fit only for social opprobrium, derision, sneers, and shunning.

In most cultures, fishing for compliments is viewed as something between boorish and unthinkable. Asking for merit is worse, because it may accrue monetary value due to signature campaigns. It is like begging a professor for a top grade, instead of doing work worthy of earning a top grade.

By contrast, those who have something worthwhile to say will take pride in earning merit the normal way: By making posts which others find valuable. Whereas those who have nothing worthwhile to say, as such have nothing to add to the forum.

[...]

Make good posts, and people will notice. Or shut up.

Thus, I find this idea meritorious (boldface added):

Quote from: Leeke on February 01, 2018, 01:17:00 PM

Begging for merit should actually just be banned outright. In fact, a name and shame thread so others can permablock them also would be something I would check on a regular basis.

If you find people begging for merit, trading merit, or farming merit, then you should name them, shame them! Ridicule, insult, and humiliate them! Make of them an object lesson not only to them, but also for all to see that such disgusting behaviour is NOT WELCOME HERE.

All functioning societies have both positive and negative feedback mechanisms for regulating members behaviour. Here, the merit system itself is a positive feedback mechanism; and I believe it should stay that way. (Much though I might sometimes wish to issue demerits, I also realize how such a thing would chill the expression of thoughtful but unpopular opinions.) In the category of negative feedback mechanisms, shame and its sister shunning are the timeless classics which enforce the boundaries of social acceptability. No community can long live without shame, just as no community can prosper without some basic notions of honour.

In a written medium, the pen is the sword. Wield it wiselyand where needed, mercilessly.

Quote from: Jet Cash on February 01, 2018, 11:24:21 AM

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.

Copypaste is already permaban actionable. Problem solved!

Quote from: Jet Cash on February 01, 2018, 04:14:36 PM

I don't really like the concept of listing your posts for consideration by a merit faucet. If you are making good posts, and they aren't being noticed, then it means one or both of two things. The board or thread is clogged with rubbish, and that means we need more mods, or those who are designated merit faucets aren't reading the threads on the boards - if they stopped scavenging in the dead threads, and looked at the new ones, maybe that would help to solve this problem.

I am strictly opposed to those threads. I urge the people making those giveaways to reconsider. Awards of merit should and must be an organic process.

Here and elsewhere, I disagree with you about the question of awarding merit to old posts. The archives of this forum contain a hidden library of knowledge, especially in the Development & Technical Discussion section. Awarding merit to old posts helps highlight them; where the authors are still active, such belated recognition also has direct utility. The first merit I awarded to any post older than a month or so was for the post which first brought me to fully realize the problems with DHTs, and why Bitcoin does not and will not use a DHT. I could not exclude such classics from consideration for merit awards.