I can't put my finger on it but as someone who I like to feel has made quite a few friends during beta so far, and who is lucky enough to have others want to join my group when i invite them, there are aspects of the whole process that i'm not entirely comfortable with.
You can invite to group anyone on your friends list that is online, irrespective of where they are, just as you can whisper them, yet without adding them to friends, you cannot invite anyone else unless you encounter them.
I think that maybe the ability to "Shout out" to individuals would be better as a game-wide contact initiator, with the action identifying your position/direction to your target for a short time (say 60 secs). Whisper then working within a certain range until group formed and would then be game-wide) whilst other than totems, or using Notice Board( something i've touched upon in another thread) groups need an encounter to form.
all thoughts appreciated.
also if i'm missing/misunderstanding something please correct me