Sure, it makes sense. Except:
(a) I'm not friends with the people who did this. I couldn't even pick them out of a username lineup. So the relationship isn't the same.
(b) If I WERE friends with the people who did this, I would have said all this and more MUCH earlier. Even if they didn't care about any of the things I said, I'd feel obligated to tell them if I saw some problems with a freebie they were about to roll out to potentially thousands of people. I think you have a responsibility to your friends to let them know things like that. =/
(c) And on ^that note, I would want my friends to tell me what they thought of the emotes I was making. I would WANT them to enjoy them, not put up with them and stay silent to make me feel good. I put in that effort for THEM, after all.
Again, that's different. Using a wallpaper has virtually nothing to do with being a fan of something. I've been a fan of a very popular anime for about half my life at this point, and not once have I owned or met anyone who owns a wallpaper for that anime (although I'm sure that thousands of people do...and yet, it's irrelevant). Like it, hate it, the story will continue and it really doesn't matter.
These emotes, however, are made with the express purpose of being used on the forum. We are asked to vote on them on the forum. Other people will use them on the forum, even if we don't, and we will see them, because again, that is their purpose. They are an element of communication.
Someone can download a random wallpaper and it will not affect me in the least. However, the fact that I have to understand an emote that someone else uses, even if I don't think it's worth using myself, will affect my experience on this forum, at least a little. It's not exactly unworthy of comment.
Tact is subjective. I thought I was more than tactful enough; that's much gentler than the tone I use when communicating with professors and employers. Unfortunately, you disagree. This is what they call an 'impass'. =/ Sorry.