I know I have read that new players were supposed to have an option of starting with a higher rating. Didn't you have an option to choose a starting rating? The idea was to allow masters to join without their having to face a gauntlet of lower rated players before they could start playing good players.
However, masters are few and far between and new players often overrate their skill level, and as a result, face a long hard slog of losses until they reach their appropriate rating. Whereas previously it took 10 or 20 losses, it may now take 50 or more for them to hit bottom.
Meanwhile, it makes the long time players happy because it puts a lot of fresh points into the rating pool and raises the average rating of the pool. This leads many to think that the unexplained increase in their ratings reflects an increase in their skill levels.
I created this new account today and it put me at a starting rating of 1800. I thought it used to be 1200. Have they changed the starting ratings??