Getting merits actually takes time because you need to secure your learning first by being active most often in the forum. And when you think you have gained sufficient amount of knowledge and experience, that’s when you will see getting merits come so easily after they have acknowledged your posts because it’s helpful and meaningful for them.
You're right. Learning should be the focus first. There is no merit if we have zero knowledge. No one wants to grant our post with merits if all the posts aren't valuable and meaningless. We also need to understand how to make a constructive post with appropriate words and correct language rules. This is not something that we can do easily without learning.
Don’t focus on hunting merits first but rather give full attention on what you can learn in the forum. That’s the best possible way so you can maximize earning merits as well as maximize learning in the forum.
Agree. If we are too focused on hunting merits, we will forget about the fundamental aspects in this forum. We also probably forget to improve our knowledge because we think it is not really needed anymore.