Yo, I meant to follow up with this a few weeks ago, but couldn't find the thread. Sorry for the late response.
Slow Mode was invented a year after the allegations against Sinatraa. So mods couldn't use slow mode then because it didn't exist yet.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ValorantCompetitive/s/a1sqfMAAQS
Since then, mods always put challenging topics like this in slow mode. Threads like these get tons of comments and are extremely hard to moderate. The subject matter also weighs on us heavily. (Some of us are SA survivors.)
I spent 3 days moderating Reddit comments on the Sinatraa situation, and only got 4 hours of sleep in total. It never stopped; it was brutal. (After a week I had to ask people to please stop making threads because we really needed a break.)
Slow Mode now at least gives us a chance to catch our breath. It make the situation easier to moderate by slowing down the rate at which users interact. This allows us watch discussion more closely & remove any harmful messages or stop arguements that devolve into attacking the other person. I'm sorry it's a pain in the ass, but I hope you'll understand that it helps us keep our sanity intact. 🙏
edit: welp, sorry to necro & get the thread locked. Just wanted to clarify for OP.