Because it sounds like the designation is negotiated with many parties simultaneously and there is a lot of uncertainty in the process. It seems that once a cri

Because it sounds like the designation is negotiated with many parties simultaneously and there is a lot of uncertainty in the process. It seems that once a critical mass of supporters pledge to maintain the branch for a while it becomes designated LTS. You can't force anyone to maintain it for a really long time so they won't commit to a timeline. I am speculating this is why.