Somehow I think my standards for meriting newcomers are higher than for other ranks
Might I suggest changing this? My reasoning for Meriting Newbies is quite simple: the Merit system was introduced to stop spammers. If a Newbie isn't a spammer, he shouldn't be restricted by the Merit system. That means my "standards" for Newbies are lower than for others.I wasted a lot of time. About 1 hour a day.
It's not "wasted" if it's put to good use 
Meriting 200+ Newbies is just impressive!