I don't know about the rest of the web, but I don't use persistant cookies. I'd always see the 'newbie' stuff.
Most sites I've seen tend to put newbie stuff on separate pages. To seem especially friendly you could use an easy-to-spot greeting/more info link-area - NEW HERE? - 'above the fold' without dedicating a lot of front-page space.
Comments
I don't know about the rest of the web, but I don't use persistant cookies. I'd always see the 'newbie' stuff.
Most sites I've seen tend to put newbie stuff on separate pages. To seem especially friendly you could use an easy-to-spot greeting/more info link-area - NEW HERE? - 'above the fold' without dedicating a lot of front-page space.