Thing is, I barely see any merits being given around, especially to new users, except in specific threads where OGs are active.
Maybe there should be a mechanism where members who can't give merits yet are able to "like" or "recommend" certain quality posts so that it can be reviewed for merit? Members identifying quality posts meanwhile could also be rewarded with merits? Otherwise I feel that it will only reward those who post in more popular threads, while more obscure ones get ignored regardless of the content's usefulness/quality.
I think this is a good suggestion.. it would be nice for new users for maybe each merit received could suggest or tag an equal amount of posts to be considered for merits.. I'm not really sure what the forum limitations allow and limit, so this may not even be technically possible. I'd be curious to know what the overall merit supply is and how exactly that number is determined and distributed with the specifics.. if anyone has this info or its been posted before, please share it.