@hilariousetc, I welcome the comment but it's a bit biased dun u think? if u look at the replies to some of my posts, there were several people who were appreciative, often people who are newer to the forum, and who left comments like "I would definitely have merited if I had some left xx". And to that I usually leave a comment saying "np and that we're all here to learn tog" etc. Do you honestly view this sort of interaction as 'bad' for the forum? To me, it's really just a neutral reminder of sorts, and what matters most, in the spirit of the merit system, shd still be the quality of the content.

On this note, I actually think that it's a bit unhealthy for high level folks to frown excessively on all merit-related lines. Neutral merit reminders shd not be clustered together with so-called merit begging/fishing, however the latter are defined. The terms themselves are also quite derogatory in nature. Gives off the vibes that someone high and mighty, commenting from 100 feet above, saying "shoo, go away beggar", when the reality could be quite far from that. 

Anyway, think i already sorta addressed your concerns via my replies above.

"P.S. Any senior member who intended to award the post merit and sees this -> pls don't, it was a partial rant out of angst, and I probably shouldn't be earning merits this way. Will continue writing 'good' posts elsewhere. Comments are always welcomed though, thanks."

and,

"Having said that though, I think going forward I will remove that "share merits if u found this useful" line. It was originally meant as a 'reminder' of sorts, since the system is new, and some folks are not used to awarding merits yet. But if it actually increases the chance of the post being viewed as fishing for merit etc., then it sort of defeats the purpose."