yes in this platform merit are very important for you to be upgraded to the next level. now for you to get merit it depends on how you responds to massages in this forum or your contributions that matters alot, then secondly for trust if you have handle any project before and delivers without anything or error whereas being kind to people and responding to personal massages will make you get positive trust. in simple text trust is your efficiency and ability for you to make something real and not scamming or running away with people's money.
so all this qualities,  this will make you possess positive trust. whereas wen you made away people's money or being rude to people and not responding to personal massages will make you gain negative trust and this negative trust serves as untrust worthy etc.
so anything you are doing try to avoid negative trust because this can prevent you from participating in some activities whereby people will be afraid of you as fraudulent man.

thank you, i think this is helpful to you.