The user count at the moment of this post stands at 33279 and continues to grow!
To take the #1 spot from lemmy.ml (36185 users and no longer growing), lemmy.world just needs about 3000 new users. Given the current growth rate, that should only be another day or two.
We’re building something here! Kudos to lemmy.world admin @ruud@lemmy.world for all of his hard work keeping this site running smoothly.
To track lemmy’s growth: https://lemmy.fediverse.observer/list
Oh users understand it. The problem with smaller instances is they might not have the expertise and funding to run for a long time. And if something goes wrong you can rely on more help. Also you are locked in, because lack of account portability.