Oh wow, that's a huge thread with multiple wall-of-texts that I can't go through all at the moment. I don't necessarily disagree with @PowerGlove's theory that you need to still contribute after ranking up, someone who reaches Legendary ultimately doesn't have an ulterior "motive" to keep up with increasing their merit. This means that the post quality may deteriorate after ranking up, due to lack of motive. Agreeably, this is an issue, but from my perspective, is it worth addressing? What do I want to say, is the risk of losing website activity, active posters and generally creating a scene on the forum.

The merit system isn't perfect, but it's relatively adequate. This move would ultimately discourage some users who will struggle to maintain their ranks, may resort to lower traffic, less user base, and perhaps a loss in signature campaigns.