I have often come across genuine newbies who receive merits on their first post. That's observable mostly in the Bitcoin boards. And it's not uncommon that the person gets enough merits to rank up to Jr. Member if he just had enough activity points.
Bitcoin enthusiasts who have valid questions or concerns and begin meaningful discussions are often showered with merits. I think that's nice to see. People wrongly think merits are only given to those who solve problems, but bringing attention to certain issues can be equally merit-worthy.
I like to merit those users. I think those are among the most valuable users of the forum.
They are legit users who are struggling with technical bitcoin issues and they are looking for help in the best place possible: bitcointalk. I did that when I first joined this forum and I receive very good asnwers., I like to encourage those users.
I think providing technical support is one of the main reasons that made this forum so big