There will be an end to it just as @Vod said that we just need to wait until all the sMerit circling in the forum been used up from those shitposters.
I'm willing to wait (not that I have a choice), and I do agree that it'll happen with time. I do think merit sources should be fairly selective who they give merits to. We have at least one who gives 20 merits out routinely, which I think is excessive in most cases.
The merit requirement does prohibit most shitposters from ranking up, but it doesn't prevent them from participating in bounties. We've had this discussion before, and it's off-topic here, but I think if those bounties would require a minimum rank OR a minimum amount of earned merits, that'd be the final nail in the shitposting coffin.