It was doing the same thing for me but I checked my email and there was a verification, once I completed it my registration went through. It didn’t actually tell me it was sending an email which is probably a flaw but it seems that’s the missing piece.

lemm.ee said it was newcomer-friendly and I was a newcomer so bingo bango there I went. I suppose I can always join a different instance if I need to but I’m still just getting a grip on this place so I’m good for now.

They are still public on reddit right now so I don’t know if it’s a good idea to create an alternative here already.

Reddit’s Reddit. There’s no reason to worry about what they do or don’t have. If you want to make one, go for it!