If you think it's counterintuitive you haven't been on this forum long enough.

It's hard to earn merit because:

• It's hard to provide detailed, knowledgeable, appropriate, and interesting content (if it were easier this forum wouldn't have needed the merit system to combat the shit posting)
• It's hard because people who are Merit Sources don't read every corner of this forum

If you have good content in your posts, and I mean really good (not just a correct answer to some easy question), you need to go to where the Merit Sources are so your good content posts can be read, considered, and merited.

Think. Think. No, seriously...think...and you will find a way.