I agree, I don't see much of it anymore. However, I would say that it would be caused mostly by the ideas of intimidation or begging, as some have suggested. Intimidation by seeing such a high level in the game, such as a level 100, when starting off as a level 3 is quite scary, at first. It could also just be respect, which ties in with the intimidation idea. Seeing a level 100, we assume that he or she has been playing for a long time, knows a lot about the game so we respect them.