I saw that this instance had a large number of users so I thought "more users->more content->more fun". Apparently, I had to prove my value by answering 3 questions that showed my interest in their community and my value as a potential future member.
What could possibly be my value to a general purpose instance besides money? I'm a software/cloud engineer so I guess there are things I could help with, but my guess is they were expecting me to say "I can donate".
I get it, they need donations to exist, but this upfront? And to a community I don't even know? Maybe I'm imagining things and they were looking for something else?
Do all instances rely on donations? I'd like to contribute to the instances I enjoy at some point. But only if I feel at home with them, not as a prerequisite to join.
I did not just say "nice things" in my application. I talked about my what goals were in joining such a community, mentioned how my values seemed to line up with what they seemed to be fostering, and talked about what I might be able to contribute to such a space.
Answering a questionnaire like that won't keep out every bot or bad actor, but it certainly stops a large majority of fuckery from waltzing in willy-nilly.
It does have another reason: the current load on Beehaw from the influx of new users is absolutely wrecking things on its infrastructure. It was not designed to withstand the amount of users that have migrated over.
It's honestly not that deep. Not to be rude, but you seem to be taking it very personal. I promise that it's not!