It was just to say "this lasts so long there's no justification for it being a GIF".
A GIF should be 5 seconds tops and be showing content you never may want to pause. How can I check the exact moment the person falls in the flood, if I can't pause?
That's my rule of thumb but over the years reddit somehow became fond of GIFs where it doesn't make any effing sense, let's stop the madness.