I know that this is not the thing that I should mind first because I am still a beginner, I should prioritize first on gaining knowledge here, as what I commonly read in many other posts, but I think asking is also a form of learning, so I don't see bad things by asking some question like this, which is really need to know of the beginners, based on what I have read on some posts, merit is significant for us to increase our ranks, is this really true?

This forum is an excellent thing about gaining knowledge and earning money, so I want to have these two, so please can you help me with this question, Thank you in advance.