Looks like your friend can explain this question without having to create this thread because I'm sure you were directed here because your friend is also making money on this forum regardless of whether he is a bounty hunter, trader, minner or signature campaign participant. And it is true that most of the forum users here can make money regardless of their interests.


Merit is generally a form of appreciation that other people give to the quality of your posts, but in many cases merit can also be meant to thank you for your contribution to this forum. Sometimes your curiosity can also make people reward you with merit, but if you care too much about merit then you will rarely get it because people can assume 100% of your posts are just because of merit. Granted that seems unfair, but merit is not moderated so that everyone can stick with their own decisions. You should also know that satoshi and sirius are the people behind this forum project and they have dedicated their time and knowledge to make this forum what it is today. They are the founders, but we are all the biggest shareholders in the project.