The "wait list", from what I gather after looking over posts on the topic can probably just be considered "longer than usual approval process". When I registered, I was not approved instantly. I was approved about a day later. Now it takes two weeks or maybe slightly more in some cases. Steemit is still in beta and work to further develop and improve (in the long run) is ongoing. I suspect that revisions are being made which involve user accounts in a major way. This is strictly speculation, I don't have a profoundly deep understanding. You can search articles by topic to gain more insight on them (hopefully). Search by clicking the magnify glass symbol upper right corner next to your avatar- a search field appears with google branding but it prioritizes steemit posts. "Hard Fork" results will include previous fork info as well. I think there was a recent update to the "white paper" also which may offer insight into upcoming events.