Yeah, I understand that it feels a little bit too harsh to implement this new system. However, it helps to contain the current spam problem. According to:

Translated: On local board (altcoin), we have more than 10,000 new posts every two weeks! This is insane since local patrollers can only review 100 posts every week.

These 10,000 posts are majority shitposts! One merit is not a big deal, so I think this is fair.

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Edit let me use this opportunity to shill my Newbie's Guide to Getting Merit (Proven)