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Invite them to... not use it? That seems like a solid way to turn people off from using a service, not a way get them excited about it.

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I don't feel strongly about the practice either way, but you're also indirectly prioritizing users who are most willing to share the product. So they're hoping their early users are also those most willing to spread. The "connectors" of the products ecosystem.

You're prioritizing users who are willing to spam their friends about a product they can't even use.

I would be _far_ more likely to tell my friends about the product if I could actually use it and be able to vouch for it (as I have with the mobile version of TextSecure/Signal).

Forcing me to get my friends to visit a page where they will find out about an application they can't even use is just annoying.

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