That’s a really thoughtful post. I agree with you signature campaigns back in the day were more than just a way to earn a bit of BTC. For many, they acted like training wheels, giving newcomers a reason to read more carefully, think critically, and improve the quality of their posts.
I don't think so, newcomers are more concerned about getting merit instead of qualifying for a campaign, although there's a chance they want to earn merit with a purpose to participate in signature campaign.
If newcomers come to this forum and looking for signature campaign, there are only two possibilities, either they're alt accounts or introduced by other people if they earn from this forum.
Most people that are already participating in signature campaigns are terrible posters, most of their content is junk and a harm to a normal person's brain. It is already too easy to earn merit, and there are too many old accounts that are used to for spamming purposes.
Earning merit is easy if one tries to make substantial contributions. Whatever the reason that they want to earn merit is irrelevant to the earning part. hose that complain are just doing so because of nefarious reasons. Why would someone care if they didn't earn enough merit for months or years unless they are here to shitpost for money?