It's hard on the newbies, they're less knowledgeable, and they need merit to rank up.
It's hard to post quality posts, so who's going to give them merit???
But some need a certain amount of posts to join campaigns.
Meh, merit isn't limited to posts that are packed with information and expertise.
Good questions, genuine attempts at getting to know the community, and anything to break the monotone of cliche responses are all fair game for merit.
And besides, campaigns don't rule the world. It may sound hypocritical for me to be saying that wearing a signature, but I think I speak for a lot of the senior members when I say that I'd still be around without it.