>>721116792
>because everyone basically ignores it
That is the Tau's entire point.
They exist as a counterpoint to everyone else's giant stumbling edifices of civilizations in the midst of their last gasp. Scrappy upstarts who don't know just how bad things are and walking face first into the horrors everyone else treats as old news.
IMO their initial release was when they were best, the writers keep including them in shit they have no business being involved in. When they released the codex flat out said "if the crusade had not been pulled back, or it had been bigger the tau would be dead". And they were also a good vehicle for showing off other random aliens as auxiliaries, which unfortunately GW stopped producing because "cool battlesuits" is all most tau players enjoy about them.
And lastly, the initial release was also really clear that their civilization was not a fun happy egalitarian animeland. You were born part of your caste, you did the work your caste told you to do and you have no other options. On average life is probably better than imperium citizens on most worlds, worse than on the good ones.