There can be a "be nice" rule in both life and corporate America. Lots of organisations have a "no assholes" rule and this goes double for organisations with a

There can be a "be nice" rule in both life and corporate America. Lots of organisations have a "no assholes" rule and this goes double for organisations with a substantial volunteer/not-for-profit ethos as a few unpleasant people who create a lot of drama can drive away a lot of quiet contributors by making their lives unpleasant. ESR has always been someone who has created drama. Look up the CML2 controversy on the linux kernel mailing list where ESR created so much drama that in the end the kernel devs just gave up on trying to work with him. It's quite possible that the OSI just decided the juice wasn't worth the squeeze.