I know it sounds childish but PHP is lame as hell same as java. Rust or go would have definitely been a cooler choice. I mean PHP gets the job done, but still....
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I joke about PHP being a dead language a lot but AFAIK modern time PHP is actually a pretty decent language. Haven't coded one tho personally.
As a single developer taking on a passion project you go with what you know.
Also it must have been near impossible to have foreseen the insane explosion of popularity that has happened here the last few days.
Even then if you build something for passion you choose something that make you happy to use, however esoteric or impractical that may be to others, or how it would be perceived. Most probably it was never thought to be exposed in such a massive way, and certainly not as soon after the project was started (we're talking month(s) here).
Anyhow, for this project from the looks of it it is working fantastic.
Personally I've not used PHP for years but now I'm actually intrigued to take a new look at it.