IMO, Lemmy would gain far more users if you were able to create a user account without having to be approved by a server first.
If communities want to remain invite only that’s fine. But I really, really think you guys should decouple account creation from the requirement of being approved by a server. It’s a barrier to entry that imo will prevent many users from registering.
Edit: If not global auto-approving of user account creation, I think what would be a more reasonable request is an indicator of whether a server auto-approves account creation or whether it is invite only.
Mm. My thinking is that many of those coming are going to, inevitably, compare with their sign up experience with Reddit and other platforms.
This whole “federated” thing is already novel and is going to require a learning curve — which for lots of folks will already bring apprehension. Anything unusual, like a manual review process, could be a turn off.
That, plus the sort of privacy nuts that live on Reddit (“why am I here? What is this, immigration? none of your business”), makes for more and more friction IMO.