Why are Cover Images necessary for Articles?

Not every article needs those, you know, like... this one...?

I used a joke picture as the cover image. It was a black picture which made it look like there was no picture. And then it "has been removed due to a Terms of Service violation", which at least feels like it made my article inaccessible to the public since it didn't get any attention. There's also a much older one where I complained about the new pricing system (back when they even had four resources, I think) - which got removed entirely. Funny, because the number on my profile claims it would still exist... and there's now more recent articles that - mildly put - bemoan the current system, including the comments underneath without getting removed. If the people responsible for this site sped up the hilarity of it all, I'd possible even show up more often.

Not gonna waste my time rambling on about more stuff this time, but feel free to exchange thoughts in the comments!