I remember those good old days when you can gain merit from this forum by making 30 posts as a newbie.
You could not before gain merits by making your 30 posts on the forum, but you would be promoted to Jr member rank without having gained one merit as soon as your activity grows to match your post count. The system was changed and now you need to earn at least one merit.
There are already many guides in how to get merits on the specific boards.