I found it odd especially as the number of forum members jumped on to participate without asking any questions.
Asking questions (such as "escrow?") only discourages Newbies. I've seen genuine giveaways, and I've seen fakes. If it's real, it deserves Merit because it's worth reading. The fact that it only earned 1 Merit already shows people have their doubts. If it's fake, we'll see soon enough and nothing is lost.