LFS's exclusivity doesn't matter to me, but any sim worth its salt is going to be exclusive by its very nature anyway. A good sim needs to be accurate enough to make it difficult to be a fast driver, not just good fun like a game. Pretty much anyone can be fast at NFS or Gran Turismo, but not everyone can be a good sim-racer. It takes a bit more concentration and practice (and sometimes hardware) to be quick at something like LFS, GPL, netKar, Papy's NASCAR sims etc.
LFS is also not marketed heavily which is also something I like (I think I'm allergic to hype, makes me itch
), and it seems to do pretty well against its competitors anyway.
If there's a sudden influx of new racers or forum members I don't think LFS will lose its charm or cult feel (or whatever it is). A good sim run by a good team will always feel "like itself" and not lose its focus, even if the forum turns into a hell-hole
As for the servers, the more the merrier. As mentioned above, the more people there are, the more chance of an odd combo on the server list :up: