It's vague to begin with where is the source for the idea of classes.

A class was created to refine a certain task in a worktask.

But you can be anything.

As example a wizard doesn't really need to be a wizard. It can be like gandalf swinging a sword.

An example how classes are self untrue to their classes is that Rangers are barbarians but all barbarians are not Rangers and all Rangers are not Archers.

Fighters are Archers but not all Archers are Fighters.

Clerics are magic casters who were given the ability to use a mace and shield but in practice unable to actually use the mace or the shield and only there for a roleplay that doesn't make much sense to have your healer in melee danger.

For this reason old D&D games the character gets to add another skill trait at the creation and clerics who doesn't have a long ranged weapon will have to take the shortest stick once their magic runs out.

There is no real definition of classified ranges since Archers were equipped all from two handed claymores to long spears to daggers since they were the strongest in the army and paid for it.

D&D added the idea of strength and dexterity but early on dexterity was needed for all accuracy and when it comes to bows there are battle bows and then there are hunting bows.

The hunting bow is made for range and used to hunt wild game , not to punch through steel plates.

Another thing, bows needed to be stringed before used and the more complex better bows were practical harder to string as them were reversed pointing forward that in the Oddyssey , his wife ask men to string his bow and shoot an arrow but none can do it since it is too complex and that complexity is why bows weren't popular and why stone throwing slings were more common since you could easy deploy and use them.

Hunting bows were made to be practical for the average man and the european battle bows is a compensate of simplistic design, just like european longswords were compromise of features to be able to simplistic use the weapon. Long swords would simply be used like a shortsword with the ability to slash like an axe which a shortsword couldn't.

Then it's fact that longswords didn't existed for a long time 1100 -1600 barely 500 years and then nonexistent in warfare and that shortswords were a lot more popular since it was straight ahead penetrate armor.

A rome soldier could be considered an archer for carrying a long arrow known as javelin but he as well carried a spear and and shield and a shortsword. Then at the compensate of having low to zero battle armor as shortswords goes through armor. Chainmails were mostly used as protection from other soldiers accidentally stabbing another.

Chainmails end up popular for practicality rather than function, them slept in chainmails and worked with chainmails on.

Short answer they are either lazy or intentionally withholding information so players potentially invest $ to catch up to current meta content.