It is the default in Windows 8 through Windows 10.
It's used (only) by Windows Explorer to determine whether the folder is a special customised folder, As a result, Windows Explorer does not allow you to view or change the Read-only or System attributes of folders. Windows Explorer sees this attribute and then runs the Desktop.ini of that folder to see if any special folder settings.
I am not a programmer, but could think of better, and faster ways to accomplish this, particularly if you are using a large lan. But, That's MS and that is the way of things.
There are ways to change the attribute, but, apart from the small delay that is incurred, it will not get in the way of you work.