I count all these aforementioned points as irrelevant and not applicable to the merit system because:

1. Merit does not have a particular requirements needed before you can have it, which means there's no unlocking and locking key to have access to getting merits or not.

2. Since you can fulfill all the points you have mentioned and make a post but yet received no single merit means clearly that merit is giving base on individuals judgement on the post he comes across to, which he feels touched him and wanted to merit it on his own wish, and this does not including making a full page post before you can get merit, you can only make a single line and get merited.