The new merit system is better in my opinion.   Yes I'm screwed over now for the time being but this new rule has changed the game entirely. 

You were a jr member lost in a sea of BS accounts.  So even though you were allowed in certain bounties your were completely drowned out by the spam accounts.  If you are able to achieve a merit when the spam accounts cannot then this rule has actually helped you immensely although on the surface it looks like you got hit with horrible luck. 

In the end it comes down to how you perceive it and react to the data.  I'm going to simply continue and move forward.  My posting is obviously not up to par yet but hopefully one day I make the break through and all of a sudden I'm in a better place than I ever have been on the forum.  Everyone who got demoted is in this exact same position to succeed.  We just need to keep hammering away hopefully making solid and relevant posts that make a difference.