I am as much in the dark as you about these details. I've been reading since the beginning, but I've never been involved in the internal affairs (and probably wouldn't be commenting if I had been).
On the question of a discussion forum vs. a blog, Eliezer's intentions for LW were always for it to be not only a method of "raising the sanity waterline", but also a method of recruiting people to the cause of rationality, and specifically people capable of working on AGI. Hence a format more suited for carrying on discussions than a blog with comments on articles entirely written by the owner and other people the owner has granted special dispensation to. Perhaps the fact that OB was and still is precisely the latter made it less suitable for what Eliezer wanted to do with it.
I've been reading since the beginning
How did you find OB?
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