Quote from: igehhh on July 12, 2022, 06:25:02 PM

Not sure if the merits system was intended to be held or difficult to earn; if you judge a new member and a veteran member equally, something is wrong. It was created by the community and for the community to use. Lowering the bar does not always mean meriting shitposters.

You've been here since 2017, so you've got to remember what it was like before the merit system, right? I mean I was so frustrated by all the idiotic nonsense being posted that I started handing out negative trust to chronic shitposters when I got on DT2, because that was the only tool available to combat them. There were people farming accounts like crazy in order to enroll them in bounties, because all it took was time and activity. That crap even continued for a few months at least after the merit system started, because I caught a whole bunch of alts (or a bounty farm) in April 2018. And I'd seen similar stuff like that many times prior to me creating that thread.

So yeah, it's supposed to be hard to earn merits and rank up. I've said that a million times since 2018, and I'm sticking to it.

Quote from: igehhh on July 12, 2022, 06:25:02 PM

Quote from: The Pharmacist on July 12, 2022, 04:32:51 AM

If you don't up your rank on a discussion forum....it ain't a big deal, really.

Don't play yourself! Everyone wants to climb the ranks while also making a positive contribution to the community.

I guess I can only speak for myself, but I've been a member of other discussion forums in the past, and I was never the least bit concerned about what my rank was. I suspect that the reason it's extremely important on bitcointalk is because the higher your rank, the more signature space you have available to rent out--and I think a lot of people would agree with that. There's an obsession with earning merits that goes way past any rational desire to contribute positively to the community, and that leads me to believe that my suspicions are correct.

And why do people buy high-ranking accounts? Is that because they want to contribute to bitcointalk? Didn't think so.

Quote from: igehhh on July 12, 2022, 06:25:02 PM

Quote from: The Pharmacist on July 12, 2022, 04:32:51 AM

<snip>

I was indirectly referring to you there! You ignore almost everything on the forum, so I wasn't expecting an apology; it's a personal choice!

It seems like I just browse the forum in a different way. If others visit certain sections they like instead of always checking unread posts, I'm guessing they're not visiting every section on the forum. My way seems more efficient; I know the sections I like to browse, so I just ignore all the others and simply check in on all the new posts made in all of those sections I haven't ignored.

I bet if you checked which sections I've given merits in, it'd be pretty broad. I'm not sure how to look for that data, else I would have posted it here. Most of my sent merits have probably been in Meta, Reputation, and Economics, but I do post history reviews for members on request, and so I often travel outside my ignore zone to hand out merits. Keep that in mind whilst you're judging me, eh?

Quote from: igehhh on July 12, 2022, 06:25:02 PM

Quote from: The Pharmacist on July 12, 2022, 04:32:51 AM

<snip>

There is always one good poster in every spammer community; don't burn the community down because of a few bad eggs; try and SORT!! I would SORT if I become a merit source!

You'd sort what? And why would you only do it if you were a merit source? As far as burning things down, when it comes to sections like Bitcoin Discussion that's the only thing I can do, because that's where the shitposters live. B&H I'm not so sure about as I haven't visited it in a while, but remember: I'm just one merit source out of many. I've got my preferences just like any other source, and in my defense I do take my "job" seriously and have handed out a lot of merits since I became a source.