But I don't see any violation of the rules by @5tift, the way he did it was not sneaky, but clever. I stand here not to personally support what @5tift did, it's just that I think we should react neutrally to this case. 1 other thing I just realized on this forum, it's a normal day to see a wimp with no activity come & offend other accounts.
Even if it wasn't explictly mentioned, it still isn't the smartest thing to do, to merit only those who vote for you.
Thing is, even if you don't have bad intentions with it and just wan't to sort of say "thank you", it will inevitabely attract those who would do anything for a merit or two, or in this case vote for you to get a merit.