2. That high merit receivers/givers are circle jerking and backslapping each other and not seeking out lower rank members who are worthy of merit to enable them to legitimately move up ranks.
Who here can provide some analysis of this for presentation.
I would like to analyse the top 50 merit receivers on this board and see if the majority of their merit comes from other members of that 50.
Here you go, the two Top 50's you asked for:
Weekly update (2018-11-02_Fri_10.04h)Total number of users who received 1 or more Merit: 23981Sample 1. 2876 Merit received by theymos (#35) from 565 unique users in 982 transactions
2. 1254 Merit received by satoshi (#3) from 140 unique users in 171 transactions
3. 1185 Merit received by LoyceV (#459836) from 230 unique users in 651 transactions
4. 1158 Merit received by DdmrDdmr (#1582324) from 155 unique users in 543 transactions
5. 1026 Merit received by hilariousetc (#397737) from 149 unique users in 507 transactions
6. 933 Merit received by Last of the V8s (#479624) from 117 unique users in 661 transactions
7. 885 Merit received by suchmoon (#234771) from 145 unique users in 477 transactions
8. 840 Merit received by The Pharmacist (#487418) from 156 unique users in 500 transactions
9. 780 Merit received by Vod (#30747) from 198 unique users in 385 transactions
10. 766 Merit received by micgoossens (#1067333) from 88 unique users in 394 transactions
11. 764 Merit received by nullius (#976210) from 132 unique users in 370 transactions
12. 764 Merit received by Jet Cash (#698159) from 182 unique users in 439 transactions
13. 761 Merit received by xtraelv (#897509) from 119 unique users in 325 transactions
14. 758 Merit received by Lutpin (#520313) from 141 unique users in 192 transactions
15. 726 Merit received by achow101 (#290195) from 109 unique users in 399 transactions
16. 695 Merit received by Piggy (#188198) from 112 unique users in 269 transactions
17. 692 Merit received by TMAN (#98986) from 140 unique users in 289 transactions
18. 635 Merit received by Lauda (#101872) from 115 unique users in 202 transactions
19. 615 Merit received by o_e_l_e_o (#1188543) from 112 unique users in 327 transactions
20. 603 Merit received by joniboini (#1275282) from 98 unique users in 317 transactions
21. 591 Merit received by xhomerx10 (#120694) from 87 unique users in 310 transactions
22. 589 Merit received by iasenko (#1291828) from 135 unique users in 309 transactions
23. 584 Merit received by gmaxwell (#11425) from 53 unique users in 143 transactions
24. 573 Merit received by krogothmanhattan (#1000199) from 103 unique users in 226 transactions
25. 558 Merit received by BobLawblaw (#569455) from 86 unique users in 395 transactions
26. 554 Merit received by theyoungmillionaire (#1180530) from 107 unique users in 196 transactions
27. 497 Merit received by marlboroza (#787736) from 107 unique users in 233 transactions
28. 495 Merit received by HairyMaclairy (#181806) from 91 unique users in 436 transactions
29. 484 Merit received by sncc (#1560793) from 89 unique users in 175 transactions
30. 478 Merit received by pitipawn (#1076869) from 58 unique users in 77 transactions
31. 470 Merit received by BTCforJoe (#557989) from 108 unique users in 192 transactions
32. 461 Merit received by qwk (#24140) from 110 unique users in 210 transactions
33. 460 Merit received by bitmover (#1554927) from 126 unique users in 289 transactions
34. 439 Merit received by DarkStar_ (#507936) from 114 unique users in 192 transactions
35. 437 Merit received by jojo69 (#49008) from 76 unique users in 276 transactions
36. 437 Merit received by HCP (#867786) from 108 unique users in 265 transactions
37. 436 Merit received by infofront (#41175) from 84 unique users in 301 transactions
38. 425 Merit received by zazarb (#369212) from 38 unique users in 55 transactions
39. 425 Merit received by abhiseshakana (#1878246) from 37 unique users in 256 transactions
40. 422 Merit received by TheQuin (#143168) from 131 unique users in 264 transactions
41. 416 Merit received by mole0815 (#1424178) from 50 unique users in 229 transactions
42. 413 Merit received by coinlocket$ (#1339716) from 102 unique users in 222 transactions
43. 404 Merit received by bob123 (#579628) from 75 unique users in 238 transactions
44. 403 Merit received by JayJuanGee (#252510) from 106 unique users in 303 transactions
45. 403 Merit received by Hhampuz (#881377) from 95 unique users in 165 transactions
46. 400 Merit received by Torque (#163318) from 84 unique users in 325 transactions
47. 395 Merit received by PHI1618 (#1071136) from 63 unique users in 132 transactions
48. 393 Merit received by Smart man (#1090672) from 103 unique users in 176 transactions
49. 391 Merit received by OgNasty (#18321) from 115 unique users in 185 transactions
50. 385 Merit received by DannyHamilton (#60820) from 90 unique users in 200 transactions
Full list (2 MB)
Total number of users who gave away 1 or more sMerit: 18374Sample 1. 6624 Merit sent by suchmoon (#234771) to 779 unique users in 1907 transactions
2. 3225 Merit sent by QuestionAuthority (#72795) to 198 unique users in 226 transactions
3. 3210 Merit sent by dbshck (#153634) to 491 unique users in 1645 transactions
4. 3130 Merit sent by Foxpup (#55384) to 203 unique users in 1272 transactions
5. 2587 Merit sent by qwk (#24140) to 365 unique users in 1767 transactions
6. 2586 Merit sent by TMAN (#98986) to 346 unique users in 869 transactions
7. 2145 Merit sent by Vod (#30747) to 415 unique users in 868 transactions
8. 1910 Merit sent by EFS (#140584) to 333 unique users in 861 transactions
9. 1763 Merit sent by paxmao (#1192397) to 645 unique users in 1379 transactions
10. 1763 Merit sent by chimk (#1202061) to 415 unique users in 1223 transactions
11. 1322 Merit sent by bones261 (#452769) to 389 unique users in 826 transactions
12. 1289 Merit sent by LoyceV (#459836) to 489 unique users in 1149 transactions
13. 1231 Merit sent by DarkStar_ (#507936) to 366 unique users in 553 transactions
14. 1160 Merit sent by xandry (#382413) to 258 unique users in 993 transactions
15. 1152 Merit sent by JayJuanGee (#252510) to 416 unique users in 1143 transactions
16. 1051 Merit sent by BobLawblaw (#569455) to 120 unique users in 625 transactions
17. 937 Merit sent by OgNasty (#18321) to 612 unique users in 829 transactions
18. 909 Merit sent by frodocooper (#988740) to 149 unique users in 532 transactions
19. 885 Merit sent by Jet Cash (#698159) to 336 unique users in 575 transactions
20. 879 Merit sent by Micio (#115423) to 84 unique users in 411 transactions
21. 878 Merit sent by Welsh (#84521) to 212 unique users in 403 transactions
22. 785 Merit sent by LFC_Bitcoin (#379487) to 223 unique users in 643 transactions
23. 774 Merit sent by achow101 (#290195) to 147 unique users in 377 transactions
24. 767 Merit sent by theymos (#35) to 115 unique users in 143 transactions
25. 733 Merit sent by Flying Hellfish (#79608) to 149 unique users in 281 transactions
26. 701 Merit sent by teramit (#158960) to 197 unique users in 319 transactions
27. 678 Merit sent by mprep (#51173) to 210 unique users in 393 transactions
28. 668 Merit sent by mindrust (#176777) to 194 unique users in 320 transactions
29. 657 Merit sent by Vlad2Vlad (#112208) to 52 unique users in 126 transactions
30. 637 Merit sent by vapourminer (#33156) to 417 unique users in 608 transactions
31. 630 Merit sent by The Pharmacist (#487418) to 268 unique users in 513 transactions
32. 583 Merit sent by malevolent (#23092) to 158 unique users in 264 transactions
33. 541 Merit sent by DdmrDdmr (#1582324) to 230 unique users in 507 transactions
34. 538 Merit sent by Halab (#1053119) to 101 unique users in 255 transactions
35. 535 Merit sent by Last of the V8s (#479624) to 151 unique users in 529 transactions
36. 508 Merit sent by krogothmanhattan (#1000199) to 158 unique users in 313 transactions
37. 503 Merit sent by hilariousetc (#397737) to 134 unique users in 262 transactions
38. 486 Merit sent by xhomerx10 (#120694) to 150 unique users in 367 transactions
39. 466 Merit sent by sapta (#347141) to 73 unique users in 105 transactions
40. 426 Merit sent by Globb0 (#244243) to 74 unique users in 137 transactions
41. 420 Merit sent by theymos_away (#349090) to 79 unique users in 89 transactions
42. 399 Merit sent by hilariousandco (#164822) to 100 unique users in 170 transactions
43. 392 Merit sent by iCEBREAKER (#17501) to 99 unique users in 125 transactions
44. 390 Merit sent by RegulusHr (#1163424) to 74 unique users in 357 transactions
45. 387 Merit sent by micgoossens (#1067333) to 83 unique users in 365 transactions
46. 385 Merit sent by xtraelv (#897509) to 190 unique users in 369 transactions
47. 382 Merit sent by cAPSLOCK (#35501) to 65 unique users in 150 transactions
48. 381 Merit sent by rickbig41 (#553678) to 106 unique users in 169 transactions
49. 381 Merit sent by infofront (#41175) to 108 unique users in 371 transactions
50. 373 Merit sent by Lutpin (#520313) to 123 unique users in 159 transactions
Full list (2 MB)
You can easily see most users in the Top 50 sent and received Merit to and from much more than 50 different users.
This is not a thread that should really garner much opinion until the statistics are compiled and presented. Then we can discuss what it all means.
I'll share my opinion anyway: It makes sense that the Top 50 senders send a lot to the Top 50 receivers, that's what puts both of them in the top. It also makes sense that a relatively small group of people creates most good posts, and it makes sense that good posters are made merit sources.
So what you're trying to prove, it kinda to be expected. And yet, the "circles" are much bigger.
There are several analyses on Merit in Meta, and there are several things to consider before calling it "a circle jerk". I find "Merit per post" and "percentage of posts Merited" pretty good indicators for the quality of a user. Here's yours for example: