I saw that this instance had a large number of users so I thought "more users->more content->more fun". Apparently, I had to prove my value by answering 3 questions that showed my interest in their community and my value as a potential future member.
What could possibly be my value to a general purpose instance besides money? I'm a software/cloud engineer so I guess there are things I could help with, but my guess is they were expecting me to say "I can donate".
I get it, they need donations to exist, but this upfront? And to a community I don't even know? Maybe I'm imagining things and they were looking for something else?
Do all instances rely on donations? I'd like to contribute to the instances I enjoy at some point. But only if I feel at home with them, not as a prerequisite to join.
Why are you signing up at Beehaw? What is it about this community that makes you want to join it? What do you want to contribute to this community?
There is also a request to read at least one of three posts that detail the moderation/general philosophy of the instance to a) evaluate it's a place you actually want to participate in, and b) inform your answers.
Basically, go to beehaw.org and read some of the content you see there, learn a little bit about how they approach things, then make your case.