Every forum has it own flaws, the merit system is not perfect but considering how the forum was before the introduction of the merit system and now, there is a better change. You said you read about the forum on askgamblers.com and you got interested to join the forum but you found out that you ain't earning merits to take you to different ranks and possibly join a signature campaign where you can get paid and you became angry and start questioning the merit system but if you were wise you should have known the boards and sections you can make productive posts that can earn you merits within your 10 months of being here but instead your posts are mostly in the gambling section where merits doesn't circulate much as a result of low quality posts that are being flooded in that section day in, day out.

Check the statistics of merits that are sent daily here and you will know that merits is very much in circulation. If you notice that there are people who favors others more in giving merits, you can possibly try and make the kind of posts that attracts merits from such users and it wouldn't be difficult for you to earn merits from them. However, remember that there are other users who also discovered the forum just like you and they do not have any body to favor them but some of them have even gotten a lot of merits within their short time in the forum. My advice to you is that you should make posts in boards that are relevant where discussions are very productive then you will earn merits along the line. We have many generous merits senders here who are unbiased and doesn't engage in favoritism while sending merits.

You cannot condemn a system when you do not have a solution on how it can improve, if you have ideas you want to suggest to the forum then why not bring it on.

Very true... A newbie can confidently set the goal of becoming a legendary member and it will damn happen. But if a rank that takes upto a decade to be achieved is introduced, no newbie will want to set the goal to make it to that rank.
Meanwhile, before that 10 years, there will be call for another rank.

I think I am used to this legendary as the highest rank. Last year when I was active in the Altcoinstalks forum, I didn't care or even regard ranks higher than legendary. I always treated legendary as the highest rank. Meanwhile, here in the forum, I don't fail to recognise and respect people with higher merits, activity and post count. Then TBH, men like LoyceV, fillippone, etc deserve another rank lol.

^ I think a higher ranking than Legendary is unnecessary, Bitcointalk is the first forum don't let it seem to imitate other forums that apply higher rank than Legendary.
I also easily analogize to my friends who are interested in joining this forum, usually I explain about the ranking with the school level, I explain this based on ranking.

Kindergarten School Level
Brand new - class A
Newbie - class B

Elementary School Level
Jr Member - Class 1
Member - Class 2
Full Member - Class 3
Sr. Member - Class 4
Hero Member - Class 5
Legendary - Class 6

That way they understood what I meant, as I went by I explained about merit etc.

I share in your point of view. From my perspective I will say legendary rank is time-gated and it has already placed the due reward for long participation and credibility of users. Creating a new rank higher than legendary will only trigger absurd merit threshold and a possible rank inflation. With the current highest rank we have merit scarcity but if a higher threshold is set the merit system might break overtime.

We should rather focus on the trust history after attaining legendary rank. Let's have more reputable high profiled users who will raise their badges higher with good reputation to back up their current ranks .

There are also no guarantees that the forum will even exist in 10 years. The world is changing day by day, technologies are evolving very quickly, and especially online communication platforms. Forums mostly exist for those who don’t find this format too outdated or strange, or for those who have already gotten used to it. And it’s clear that those who are used to it have already had time to grow into meaningful ranks. But newbies who register today won’t be motivated by a high rank that takes 10 years to reach, without knowing what will happen in a year or two, let alone in a decade.