Source-D1 (depth 1?) could select membres that he trusts (source-D2) and transfer smerit to them (approval of the selected users by admins may be required for the first time and may be restricted later).
Finding that member again will be not simple task, and approval process might take time too.
Why can't we make sMerit to votes?
All member can vote and value of vote can be determined by the member's Rank. For example
Rank sMerit (Vote Value)Legendary 5
Hero 4
Sr. Member 3
Full Member 2
Member 1
Jr. Member 1
Newbie 0.1
For example each single vote from a Legendary will have value of 5. Similarly we can either exclude Newbie or give a small vote value like 0.1
Yes it is complicated and may need some technical changes in the backend or just keep it for the future enhancements.