Academia isn't flawless, it's no paradise. It's just humans and their factions, with all the good and bad that brings.
> The authors are ... constrained by space due to paper limitations
This is very real. Different journals have different criteria: word count; formatting; the number of tables you're permitted to include; etc. It's archaic and daft but that's the truth of it. And that's before we even get started on the really bonkers stuff like author order, impact factor, reviewer workload vs lack of pay, publish or perish, and so on.
> The authors are ... constrained by space due to paper limitations
This is very real. Different journals have different criteria: word count; formatting; the number of tables you're permitted to include; etc. It's archaic and daft but that's the truth of it. And that's before we even get started on the really bonkers stuff like author order, impact factor, reviewer workload vs lack of pay, publish or perish, and so on.