Why have I noticed so many applications to become a source of merit in the forum lately?
To be precise, this year (2025) there's no too many merit source application, it's only 4 members that have raised application for a source merit, the other applications you are talking about is of last year and the year before 2024.
Some applications have been granted sources few days back and since they are posting on their thread, it's bumping up the old threads and I guess that's why you think that there's many applications.
It is appropriate for us to congratulate them on being elected, I hope they can contribute very professionally and also fairly to anyone they give merit to the post, this may not be easy but they ask for it and they have subjective eligibility standards as a source of merit.
The people you mentioned had their merit source application since perhaps you must have just noticed. And recently they were accepted as a merit source just yesterday most of them made their declarations. Except for Thempen, we are yet to know if he was accepted or not.
So far 17 persons were added to the list of merit source.
Yes you are right, I saw it too but I saw on the same page and the application was lined up on the discussion topic page that day, and those who have had their applications approved, as a form of refreshment because there are also quite a few sources of merit that are already off the forum.
A two-tier system has been created, those that are merit source and those that are not. We cannot know for sure what drives some members to apply to become merit source. Some members might want to become merit source because they think they can distribute merits in a productive manner. Some might ulterior motives such as merit abuse. Some could have other (positive or negative) agendas.
Why have I noticed so many applications to become a source of merit in the forum lately?
We can only hope that they do not have ulterior motives when they have become a source of merit because that is not a fair act for forum members, but indeed we do not know how people think, negative and positive can occur in its implementation, it's just that we need to support and pray that they do it very positively for the development of the forum.