But nobody has to turn it into a viable business.
Even if you do a yearly event where you gather all hobbysts and let them roam free, maybe letting them host their own talks, it's still better than having a brand and using it for nothing.
I've been part of organizing small-scale events like this one, and if you put a modicum of interest into it you can actually get a margin of profit out of it. Not enough to make it a business, sure, but everyone can eat their cake anyway.
I agree with most of this - 'do the hobby for the love of the hobby' makes sense, and doesn't have to make money (though if you can break even, great!). The problem is once 'you' (pardon my using the second person through this) buy the brand, to my mind, there's now the implication
you'll be doing something with it. You've now put a big target on your back for all the users, including the socially awkward ones, to start pestering you about decisions that were made long before you had any involvement, and offer their opinions about what you should be doing with your various resources. If you get tired or fed up or if real life gets in the way and you want to walk away, you have to divest from the brand or you're just as bad as whoever held it before you.
(Also, there's the nagging implication that you'd somehow be legally liable for the actions of prior incarnations of the company, though if the contract is written correctly, that liability doesn't come along with the brand name. Hopefully there were some sharp lawyers involved on the purchaser's side to iron those wrinkles out.)
I understand the novelty of this, but my personal take is there is no way in hell I would want to assume a defunct brand and try to restart it - there are too many ways that goes off the rails.