I've noticed that when someone asks a question, often the first line of the answer will be "Welcome to Stack Exchange!", followed by a response. **When I started out on this site, I felt patronized and/or belittled by such comments before the post.** I feel as though the line sounds rather condescending, and I didn't appreciate others pointing out my new status. 

I understand that **most people put this to welcome new users** and would like to start a respectful discussion of this specific line's merits and/or flaws. For example, is there a better phrase to welcome new users, or am I simply seeing things that aren't there, if you catch my drift?