Okay, it’s actually 18955 at the time of this post. I’m looking at https://lemmy.fediverse.observer/list and lemmy.world has already passed beehaw.org by a large margin for second place.
Can’t wait for this place to start filling out!
UPDATE: 5 minutes after the post, it’s now 19061. Officially more than 19000!
Heh writing the application was part of the fun! :D No, really, I think that at least in Beehive, it is an important step: It ensures a minimum understanding of the environment of the instance and its mission, and as long as the option to join other instances is there, why not?
And it really doesn’t have to be an essay. I got approved with like 8 words.
I agree, having to spend a minute to write something is good, my server also does it.