You may have misread it, or it may have been mis-posted, but that is not true. Activity is the count that allows you to be considered for a rank promotion. Merits ( or the lack of merits ) are a barrier to prevent unsuitable candidates entering a higher rank. Higher ranks have more resources and thus more potential to abuse the forum. In the past these resources have been abused by many members, and some are still abusing them. In order to avail yourself of these rights, you need to show that you can be trusted. It is clear that there are a lot of "economic migrants" who have come to the forum to take advatage of it. Merits are helping to prevent them from abusing the forum hospitality.