I don't see the most generous list as a competition, and I'm not striving to be in the top 5 or top anything for ego reasons.  I just want to be a good merit source, because I believe in the merit system.  Without merit sources distributing merits generously, the whole thing would just grind to a halt--and I'm not sure what Theymos would do in that case, but I don't want to find out.

And yes, I do give advice when members PM me for post history reviews, because my offer is not just for a handout.  I still have fairly high standards when I get those requests, but I don't tell people that I'm not meriting any of their posts and to just go away.  Members who take the time to contact me are probably the ones who will improve their posting, as opposed to the garden variety shitposter who contributes nothing and then starts a thread in Meta wondering why he hasn't earned any merits.