The advice from day one has always revolve around not casing after the merits but that doesn't mean you should remain the way you were if your posting style or habit wasn't productive to the forum.  Don't forget, spammers are alway satisfied with the way they post so them changing won't just benefit them in regards to getting merited but it'll also benefit the forum in general as less spam and more productive discussion will be recorded on the forum.

There's nothing wrong in changing your style of posting when you notice they weren't productive in the first place, bear in mind the merit system was introduced to improve the level of quality contributions on the forum so if users are adjusting to this, you don't discourage them instead encourage them to make it a part of their posting style but not by faking it. It's more beneficial when you start producing quality contributions and this isn't just for the merit as it has other benefits like gaining more knowledge by interacting with other quality contributions and been recognized for your posting abilities (which come with it's own rewards).