There are different opinions on Beehaw’s registration process. I kind of see how some people would find it dissuasive, specially after most of us are coming from Reddit. But I still think it’s very practical, at least for the time being.
Btw, this is only my opinion as a new user, I don’t know any of the admins/mods. Link to my original comment.
Beehaw isn’t the first nor the last server on the fediverse to ask people to submit a sentence or two explaining why you want to join.
Thematic instances and instances aim to marginalized groups tend to be picky to protect their users and/or keep the instance “on topic”