What is really unfair is all the spam generated by newbies. Is really easy for someone to open new accounts and post some trash like an ICO promotion or nonsense posts. If newbies were demoted then it was because the forum is done will all that spam and the only option was to make a drastic move.
To get 1 merit isn't really hard at all, just bring some quality info and merits will come alone.
I saw some newbie or demoted jr. member that has relatively good post. But, they were in the super mega threads which is possible to be seen by mods and also it is unlikely to get for there are many post out there in a single thread compare to this section which thread has only 1 or single page.
I know merit is hard to get but it doesn't mean that one could not get it. It is just a matter of hard work on doing quality posts. It is also a big help on studying merited posts of those higher ranks and you can start those good poster here in this section.