Cardamine and Artifact smugglers used to fly through the Order guard system. I kept myself quite entertained using an order cruiser to blow up those transports.
Junkers used to be able to fly in Kusari, with only the risk from farmer/hogosha players to stop them (of which there were none, other than zelot, it's all his fault).
Indy LSF and LN players werent allowed in alaska, or even in the area wehre the jumpgate to alaska is - only official faction liberty navy players were. My first non-trading character was an LSF liberty gunboat, and I was both destroyed by official faction LN players while 'protecting' the jumpgate to alaska from smugglers, as well as sanctioned by admins, because of being totally in-character/RP. Fun, yea?
Nomads used to be exclusive.
The Order used to be practically exclusive.
Before it was taken over by the lolwuts we have today, the Order was run by a high command group consisting of both official faction and "indy" players (myself one of the indies) - an attempt to represent the interests of both groups that actually worked out pretty well in an age of constant bickering between factions and indies.
Official factions used to be able to pay the admins for purchase of a guard system, and then could control the usage of ships sold only in that guard system.