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The WLM team have explained on their blog why they have been giving out so many invites:

Quote:Today's forecast: Invitation Flurries
Posted by Marty

Some of our beta users have noticed a recent flurry of new invitations as well as some Friends and Family invitations arriving to those already participating in the Windows Live Messenger Beta program. Want to know why? Windows Live Messenger Beta has several new service improvements that change the way the client talks to our servers. One of the motivations for limiting the number of early beta testers is to grow the scale of users slowly to ensure the new architecture is safe to deploy for all 180 million+ users. We hit our first target level for number of users last week and have now increased to the next target level. In order to get there we're giving out more invitations to both new users and to our existing beta users to bring more people on board.

Hey, I want to run the beta version of Windows Live Messenger, how can I get an invite?

Huh, that's weird. I've never heard that before - not! Well leave it to our trusty beta group to provide a new Beta Signup method. Finally! Now you can formally ask to be part of the Windows Live Messenger Beta program! Just go to http://ideas.live.com and click Sign Up under Windows Live Messenger beta. Fill in your Hotmail address, select your country and you'll be added to the list for an upcoming round of invites. I'm not sure what the turnaround time will be, but I do know this is the FASTEST way to get an invitation.

For those of you already in the beta, we have a dedicated team reviewing all the feedback and have included a significant number your suggestions for the next release. So THANK YOU to everyone who has provided feedback for the team to continue to drive quality up in the next Messenger release.

Speaking of the next release... While I can't give you an exact date of when it's coming out, I can tell you we are targeting multiple releases per year to keep the code fresh, provide quicker turn around with innovative new features and continue to improve the quality.

So thanks again to everyone running the Windows Live Messenger Beta. I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am.

Full story: http://spaces.msn.com/members/messengers...5764.entry
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if they answered to all the feedback they would most probably have made it skinable by now..

but i enjoyed reading that article there

now that I read it again it seems like they're practically turning it into a public beta!

judging by the number of invites they are giving out and the fact that is says "... and you'll be added to the list for an upcoming round of invites. I'm not sure what the turnaround time will be, but I do know this is the FASTEST way to get an invitation." it seems you can get an invite just by signing up your email address.

so, looks like no more invite requests or giving outs... (unless you really want an invite now then pm me and you might be lucky - it seems like the invites I have at the minute are weighing me down lol)

EDIT: also, I agree with you James about the skinnability thing

i signed up for the live mail beta thing the other day..

i havent got a reply yet though

_James_ Wrote:i signed up for the live mail beta thing the other day..

i havent got a reply yet though

windows live mail is way better than hotmail. i got it while back - can't remember how thought: i think it was through the 'msn customer experience program' which i'm on in microsoft connect, but it may have been becuase of the ideas.live.com page which i pressume you used. if you did then it will probably take an age...

yeh i used a link i got confirming my invites that i could give out..

Someone want to make a news post about it, with there own opioion and how anyone nowadays is a tester

sure I will write something up.