We should not really focus on earning merits because if you do, you will just get discouraged and will compare your posts with other members who have a lot of merits. For me, merit is just a bonus because of your worthy post. Most users here are generous with merits, you just have to show that you deserve getting one.
Merits will come to us, sometimes even without expecting it, you will receive merit. It means someone appreciates or agreed to your posts. Everyone is welcome here especially if you really wanted to learn more about cryptocurrency.
If someone join this forum only for enriching knowledge about Bitcoin, Bitcoin transaction, Bitcoin mining, Atlcoin etc then I will say merit is nothing for him. But if someone join this forum for earning money then I will say merit is everything for him. You can see this in Signature campaign.
I agree with this one. How we see the importance of merit, depends on our purpose here in the forum.