One of the most interesting fact of the BTT forum is there are thousands of Spambies turned back to Newbies as effects of new rank requirements.
Newbies and Spambies by now highly correlated each other.
I am not the one, who invented the term - Spambies - but I love this term, which immediately provide quick assessment on quality of forum users.
Newbies who have hundred threads published in total will be truly Spambies. It makes lot of sense because only trash threads can not get merits, especially no merit point with hundred or thousand threads
Spambies will be stucked at Newbies if they will keep spamming the forum and can not get at least one merited thread.
That is the whole point of the current merit system and we obviously are seeing that effect.
The stuck fever is not just happening to what you called "spambies" but to other high member spammers as well.
The only problem that we have to deal right now is the abuse in which spambies who have connection and budget can really go up because they can easily talk about sending each others merit