Could this be a local board thing, where too much Merit flows towards posts that aren't objectively high quality?
Not fully,sometimes it comes as a result of relationship built.
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You said banned for plagiarism
So far the user haven't done that
I believe it's too early to judge since its just around 5 post they have made.
Maybe with time improvement would be notice
This is a second chance, therefore they would be aware that many eyes are on them to check if the second chance was respected and put to good use.