We're pretty protective of our ~500ish regulars. We are not a large instance, but our users are very engaged. We don't want them to be drowned out by a massive influx of new accounts utterly shifting the vibe of the site overnight.

It's already a problem of us both being Perth-based: we're weak on admin coverage first thing Eastern Time as that tends to be 3am-7am here. An explosion of users and an early morning incident is something it's just easier to avoid.

At the end of the day, we're a pair of nerdy full-time family guys doing this as a hobby. We aren't interested in monetising this site or making it our jobs.