People are misusing the merit system in number of ways and it is good that some are getting caught as well. But there is one way which will be hard to detect:

Suppose a new member gets 5-10 merit points for some of his posts in total. Now he gives these points to a enemy here for a short post. This may raise suspicion among the senior members and both members may be given negative trust. Isn't is unjustified for the later member ? How is the staff going to tackle this ?