In reply to smithaldo:
Did they attach the autobelay to the maillon or directly to both loops of the harness. I'll caveat this by saying that I'm assuming your talking about a full body harness of this style https://images.app.goo.gl/15YHAXtVLmCUYEzW8
The maillon may be there for a couple of reasons: firstly when kids are waiting for a shot/walking between climbs the maillon stops the harness coming off. It also allows the instructor to tighten the harness up properly without making it too tight (if you tighten this style of harness too much without something joining the 2 belay loops then trying to attach the autobelay is a nightmare as the loops are too far apart)
2nd reason may be to cover for any human error by the instructor while clipping in. If the instructor only clipped one of the belay loops instead of both then the maillon would mean the harness won't open and let the climber fall out. Probably wouldn't be all that comfortable for the climber but they're unlikely to come to much harm from it.