The message
from Ian Stirling contains these words:

It's also a compromise between electrode life and turn-on speed.
If it takes 1-2 s to start, then it allows the electrodes to warm up
before the tube is started.

Doesn't it also increase the output per unit area? A more important
consideration in CFLs than in linear units.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.