hello! i'm new here. I want to join this nice community and play the game, but i've read the servers have been down for a while, can i still create an account even if the servers are down? does the alternative server let me create accounts? or do i have to wait until the servers are fixed / register somewhere else

You cannot register on the official servers right now as they are completely broken.
LibreWorlds doesn't require an account right now and it is a simple pick-a-name and log in.
WorlioWorlds does and its registration is similar to the official servers.

thanks for the information and help! i'll look more into it.