Who are the merit sources here btw? and what is a merit source exactly? I have previous not paid any notice of the kind of board metrics before since I am not a trader here. I am starting to take an interest in DT of late too I had not even known such a thing existed. I am interested to see how one is eligible and then who decides on DT. (that discussion is for another thread though).
You're asking many questions that have been discussed and answered in Meta many times. I recommend you read a bit more first in other threads.
I can also recommend checking
the last topics started by Piggy and
DdmrDdmr. I think you're going to love their work on Merit statistics (partially interactive).
Further reading:
[TOP-200] Members who support newbies - Thanks!.