nostr:npub19tcpurtt6xulhw0r6sc404j9jraj0h8me2lzs7z2tqewz7l0hpas59nlea isn’t required to join, but it’s very helpful to see the current state of the network and to find channel peers.

I’ll let nostr:npub18yvpnchj7yaepjk8yz2pn66hfmmup505aqvx0lpyc3aree0g5fyq8clpz3 (one of the founders) address your concerns.