In this case, i do get your point... But what if somebody that used to be very active and a real asset of the forum took a leave of absence just before the merit system was introduced and wanted to come back right now? Wouldn't he/she be entitled to the same perks as the rest of us instead of being stripped from his/her merits just because he/she didn't log in for 5 years?

But i do get your point that it's frustrating to see people that have never earned a single merit spamming just because they have been a member for so long that they didn't have to work for their merits... I'd personally just hope that such a person gets banned or receives red trust sooner or later, that way their spamming days should be over...