The merit mechanic is great. It encourages users to post well to rank up. Maybe in the future signature campaigns can pay out using Merits instead of BTC 
Thats something I think merit sources could be used well for.
Thats something I think merit sources could be used well for.What difference does it make? Isn't it just the same as begging? If we say 'Merit', its something you did that deserves commendation. A Merit is like respect, you have to earn it - not being asked to have. Why is it starting to sound like its turning into a currency?
But right now, why don't we make every 10 merits we recieve, translate to 8 or 10 sMerit? People with current ranks become the merit sources, and the merit can be passed around while the 8 merits recieved will stop merits being too common. Besides the example above, can someone help me try to justify the need for merit sources?
Everyone receives sMerits (excepts for the newbies) and Merit Sources to those people that have special obligations. For them to grant merit to those people that earn their respect or find your post very helpful of some sort, besides the higher ups don't have all the time they need for them to monitor every people here.