I don't condone Millionaire Maria's harsh post, and I don't think anyone is acting pompous or superior or anything else bad.
And to give her the benefit of the doubt, perhaps she meant "general you," not anyone here. Still pretty harsh, though.
But her reaction is an extreme expression of what I was cautioning against. You (general!) don't want anyone to feel that way about you, I'm sure. That's why my advice, if you are going say (on an invitation or when asked or whatever) "no gifts please," is not to give any reason at all. If asked for a reason, say something like "we are so lucky already and there is nothing we need," not "what we value is your presence." Because that suggests that you think that other people who do not say "no gifts please" DON'T value friendship over possessions, or at least not as much as you do. Does that make sense?
I know that's NOT how you feel. The "presence" formulations are intended to tell hem how much you appreciate their efforts to attend, not to suggest that you have loftier values.
But I'll say it again -- you cannot control how others feel. And as you see, right or wrong, there are people who are a little put off. So since there really is no need for it, I would avoid that "presence" wording.