be far more conservative when giving merits to newbies
I'm not going to do that. Merit was introduced to stop spammers, not to discourage Newbies from the few Merits they get. Even if a few spammers manage to get some Merit from me, that shouldn't mean the good real users have to suffer because of them.
Agreed.
If we stop meriting newbies or lower ranks, we are encouraging the forum to stop growing. I'm all for protecting the community if an issue arises, but let's not turn this place into a place only dictators will frequent. There are cheaters no matter what we do, but only taking a path to stop growth isn't helping anyone.