It’s not resistance to linking observations, I don’t want to be forced to link observations, especially when it’s much simpler to just have a single instance. That freedom seems reasonable.
As for the guidelines, they are most definitely separated from the “Help” page. The guidelines lay out rules, the breaking of which can result in suspension. The “Help” page is for new users needing to learn how they should interact with the site. Note how the index on the left links to the guidelines (rather than stating the page is also included in guidelines), and how all of the language in the “Help” page references the guidelines as a separate entity.