> It always rubbed me the wrong way though, like the welcomer is trying to establish a hierarchy or draw attention away from the contents of my message itself

> It always rubbed me the wrong way though, like the welcomer is trying to establish a hierarchy or draw attention away from the contents of my message itself You can get 100 "Welcome!" messages from 100 different people, and they could all have had subtly different tones and intentions, you would never know because it's text. So you're probably both right and wrong, depending on the person. I think any social group will develop soft hierarchies, but on the internet they're particularly challenging because our previous experience is hidden to people when we join a community for the first time. I think that's particularly tough for people who are established in their existing communities, because on the internet our reputation rarely transfers over. We are all noobs until proven otherwise. If a life long master carpenter joined a woodworking forum, there would be DIYers with 6 tools in their shed but a long time on the forum, who would talk down to them and question their advice. Everyone deserves the same level of respect and attention in discussion, but I feel a reputation for being knowledgeable on a specific topic is earned. This person might be "The Guy" for woodwork in his city, but online they are #WoodMan24 and no one cares.