Yeah I think it’s def a bug and not a feature. It doesn’t really make sense for them to put that block up when you consider that blocking off the /s and /e channels would barely change anything about the game for the vast majority of players who are non-RPers. It’s totally some dumb oversight in the code, imo.
…Whether they’ll fix the bug is another matter entirely, though. I made a post in the bug report forums too and it’s got no traction, so idk if Blizz even knows about it.
Maybe reply here if you guys can so they’ll see it:
https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/say-and-emote-bugged-for-people-that-dont-have-dragonflight/1856689