You don't have to write an essay. I literally just wrote "because I'm leaving reddit" and got in a couple days later. Makes sense that approval times may be longer with more people leaving. But, I agree it is a bit much. I use Lemmy.world too just because I didn't want to initially wait a couple days to be approved.
Yeah I assume that's the case, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. They seem busy these days. Still, everyone was like "just write you are a reddit refugee" and that definitely didn't work.
Probably comes down to beehaw specifically stating "we are not a reddit replacement and don't intend to be". Doesn't mean redditors aren't allowed obviously, but if your reason for wanting to join is stated as "i want reddit" with no more context then it makes sense.