Quote from: RivAngE on September 11, 2018, 12:33:31 PM

Also it saddens me that merit sources are probably prejudiced against everyone who use signatures, even legit people like myself.

You're already one step too far: it depends on the signature campaign. If someone wears a signature advertising some token for an ICO, and gets paid in tokens, I often don't read his post. If I don't read it, he won't receive any Merit for sure.
I know your signature campaign has a strict manager, mine too, but most of the ICO spammers don't care about anything. It's simply not worth reading all the crap that's posted.
FYI: I only started using a paid signature when I was a Full Member, and I'm currently only in my second campaign on this forum. If anything, these (strict) campaigns made me improve my posts, as I always feel like I'm going to be judged for what I post.

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For example look at this post just above us (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2818350.msg45458026#msg45458026), JayJuanGee, a very respectable and old member received a merit for quoting my post and enriching my point with some comments. That's all good, but on what ground was this post merit-able and mine wasn't? What set us apart?

That post was merited by me, so let me respond to this. What set your posts apart is your first line:

Quote from: RivAngE on September 09, 2018, 04:17:05 PM

Merit offering is relative to the total market cap of the cryptocoins! Grin

This may or may not have been a joke, but I don't think it's true. I don't have to agree with a post to Merit it, but I must believe the information is correct to do so. Example: this post of yours. I partially disagree, but it's worth reading.
The reason I merited JayJuanGee's post is explained here.

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if a respectable legendary member with no paid signature and a newbie with a signature were to write the exact same post with the same wording... would merit sources and other members be fair?

I especially try to Merit Newbies who aren't spammers. This forum needs "normal" new users, and if I see one, I Merit him. It's just hard to find that normal new user amongst thousands of spammers.

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I'm sure without a signature I would have reached 100 merits by now.

I doubt it, but if you really believe this, you could consider it an investment to get rid of your signature until you're a Full or Sr. Member. That will increase the value of your siganture, and could earn back the lost revenue.

Quote from: cryptofarid10 on September 11, 2018, 03:48:12 PM

Merit buy sell is not permitted. If you see something like this, please report to the moderator. Then he will be banned.

This isn't true. Only Merit sources aren't allowed to sell Merit.
Merit abuse isn't moderated, but you risk red trust from DT.