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, it should be another day or two.
We’re building something here!
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.