After closing those topics, I received several unwanted private messages in which newbies begged me for merits.
I didn’t give them a negative or neutral trust but I will think about it next time.
Newbie members should learn how to be patient and how to raise the quality of their forum posts.
If they were normal users, it would still be good. I myself get such PNs on a regular basis after writing that I am a merit source. Over time, I noticed that the usernames of the Merit beggars are similar or follow a pattern. Then I looked at the mostly one or two line posts of the users and also noticed similarities. So I came to the decision that it was a matter of professional account farmers who would quickly develop them into higher ranks and then be sold.