I think a lot of us still remember TV’s Frink being permbanned years ago, not for rule breaking, but for just “being annoying” according to Jay. Have to imagine there’s still some bitterness towards the general style of moderation that has lead to some of these longtime users feeling like the site has become a different place. People seemed to like Off Topic much more when it didn’t have such strict and sometimes confusing moderation.
But it’s fine. The projects sections still live on. Not every site needs an off topic section that people care about.