As I see in this TOP-200, there are two trustworthy members who have found meritworthy posts and supported about 250 newbies since September 17, 2018. Good work, @OgNasty and @LoyceV! 
My requirements for Newbies are really low: if I think it's a real user and not a spammer, I'll Merit him/her. I strongly believe that's what Bitcointalk (and Bitcoin) needs to grow long-term.I also feel the same, of course it's not always possible to get it right all of the times but we can try to incetivize good behavior and contributions to the forum as a whole.