I think 10 posts to be able to send PMs is perfectly reasonable.
I had people contact me before in a PM to answer a generic question. This is the opposite of what a forum is meant for. If you got a question, post it for everyone to see and learn from. You can still @ users in a thread on the topic.
As for finding license hacks for test equipment, It is best that this forum doesn't become famous for sharing those, since it could bring unwanted attention to this awesome resource of electronics knowledge.