Once someone is a merit source, he is not a source for lifetime. Merit source list is updated every month. If a merit source is inactive in the forum for a long time or does not distribute the Smerit given to him, then he is removed from the list of merit sources.
Oh boy...
For example, this
user is on the 109 Merit Sources list since 2019 and is still there. And there are others like him. So we can conclude that it's better not to write something when you don't know much about it.
The audacity some people use to give information they are not sure about is alarming. That person isn't a staff or moderator and neither is he a merit, but he gave out wrong information with so much confidence.
Halab - thank you. If you never told - then maybe I never knew that @baba0000000000 is one of merit source appointed since 2019. Based on the merit information - this user has spent 258 merit so far and received 288 merit. From the merit gap you receive and spend - then it is clear that he is one of the merit source on the list. @baba0000000000 has been inactive since September 19, 2019 and has not spent any more sMerit since then. But the question is - why doesn't the admin replace it with another user?
Take it this way;
Whether he is replaced or not doesn't really matter. There's no definite number of merit sources to do the job. Theymos can decide to use lesser or higher number of merit sources. The emphasis is on how much merits is in circulation and not who are those circulating them.