So to all the noobs who are wondering what the trick is to ranking up these days, look at OP's post history. If you're not willing to put in that much effort into your posts, don't expect to rank up past Jr. Member. This is exactly what the merit system was supposed to do, by the way, i.e. force members who want to advance their rank to make constructive posts. And for the handful of members who've actually managed to claw their way toward Hero member status, it's worked.
An other trick to rank up seems to be by bumping your own threads in Meta and Beginners boards.
I suppose this is just a small "accident de parcours" because I am quite sure a Hero Member has too much honor and dignity to lower himself to such practices.
This humble Senior Member would nonetheless suggest not to repeat it. It sets a questionable example for lower-ranked members like
this one, or
this one, who have been punished for bumping their Merited posts recently.