I don't know why you continue to do it then.  That's one of the sections I have on ignore, and I never even visited it when I was new here.  

As far as that tool in the link you provided, I don't think it's going to adversely affect bitcointalk in any way, but if putting the OP on ignore as well as the members who merited him is what you think is right, go for it.  I'm indifferent about the matter, because I have a feeling that the days of mass airdrop participation are nearing the finish line.  Let 'em do it as much as they like as long as they're not spamming the main sections of the forum.

Oh yeah, that's annoying.  That topic is garbage anyway, just a generic question about bitcoin's future that's poorly-worded and vague.  Those threads are custom-made for shitposters who have cookie-cutter replies for such topics, and it wouldn't surprise me if most of the replies there are from OP's alts.  Despite shit like that, I can't bring myself to put Economics on ignore.  There are some interesting threads in that section, and Hydrogen usually posts some news articles worth discussing.  

I will say that it's damn hard to find posts to merit in Economics, because that's one section where I actively look for low-ranked members to give merits to--and then I usually run into a fortified tower of bullshit like the thread you linked to.

Edit:
Meh, I don't think so.  I also don't think anyone would give out a neg for something like that.  He did actually contribute something that's useful for a lot of people--even though it's just an airdrop tool--so a little addition asking for merit at the end of the post doesn't constitute "begging" to me.