There's a massive improvement in this forum, especially on my local board after the merit system was introduced (well, not exactly one second after, maybe months or weeks after that). Not sure how related merit and the decrease of spammers are, as the increasing scam projects might also contribute to that condition. But overall, we can see which user is really making a good post and being appreciated, and which one doesn't.

After that, sooner or later more members try to be helpful in order to be more appreciated and have better luck with campaigns. Hopefully, it continues until the end.