There's a lot of postings about merits that I've been reading about but I think this is one of the better ones that's worth your reading time if you really really want to earn merits.  I think it's a cool system, and it looks like its here to stay.  Even Reddit has its own version of merit which is called karma.  Merit is still new, in its infancy, and I would say that we should give it a fair chance to manifest itself into this forum.  Instead of whining, we newbies (including me) should figure out what it takes to earn the merits rather than complaining or debating whether its fair or not.

Case in point, I am a newbie, barely a day old, one of my posts was awarded a merit even though I didn't expect it, or with intention to earn it.  I only wrote what came out of my mind and from my heart.  

We humans tend not to embrace something that's new because we're comfortable with the old.  Embrace the change I would say, for in life, the only thing that is certain and inevitable is "change".