The first time I saw this topic, yesterday, I laughed pretty hard. Then I saw it again today and laughed again.
I don't see anything wrong with these posts. People can post anything after all this a discussion forum.
The problem is these types of posts - as well as many others - are written with the sole intention of extracting merits; usually from merit sources. They are not written out of a genuine desire to contribute to the forum in any reasonable way, any more than they are written out of an actual appreciation for "Cousin's Day" or what have you.
We really need to encourage members to be more active in the community so that the community expands even more.
I agree but I'd rather attract people who have actual knowledge (or anything interesting) to contribute. Regardless of what I think, accounts are free to shitpost nothingness to their heart's content. Nobody can stop them, unless they are writing pure spam or plagiarism, of course.
Bitcointalk community is still a very small size community. Help each others, if you can not help at least do not discourage them for the sake of saving some merits.
It was much larger at one point, when it was the hub for discussion of all things Bitcoin, as well as altcoin launches & ICOs. Shitposting for merits should be discouraged, however. We should encourage people to learn and demonstrate knowledge & creativity rather than encouraging them to master the art of sucking up.
I laughed from the whore part. Sometimes we need fun.
That being said, I agree with you in most of the arguments. My point is, if someone earn merit from others and if that smerits are from established members then I do not see anything wrong. After all we need the users to rank up unlike me who really not much into ranking and activities.
Sometimes a little encouragement can make a huge difference in people's behavior. Today's spammer can become a real asset for the forum tomorrow.