Zoners - why they do exist?

[n00bl3t]

If that was the case, your answer's already been given to you over the last few pages.

Um. Then. Maybe I haven't noticed it, because of ooRP rant about Zonerzonerzoner?

I quoted them for you. You didn't quote or appear to respond to them before. Enjoy.

Interesting thing to note that a lot of people miss - Zoners aren't itinerant. They barely qualify as traders, so far as the portrayal of the original NPC faction goes. They form enclaves - incredibly tight knit communities - on Freeports outside House space, some of which being centuries old. People come to them to trade - they don't trade with others.

Why don't the Houses shut them down? Many reasons. Firstly it's difficult to prove conclusively what's happening onboard because of Freeport's legal positioning outside House borders. Law enforcement has to be proportionate and specific - in this case it means the Houses would have to identify who specifically is trading with pirates, not just which station is.

Beyond that, it's actually advantageous to have neutral figures that can act as go-betweens for unlawfuls and House authorities. For starters, if groups like Corsairs can be weaned onto a mercantile economy instead of a raider one, they cease to be a predatory threat to the Houses. The Zoners are an interim step that assists in that long term manipulation.

Secondly, when transports are hijacked, crew are taken hostage and cargo is stolen. Usually long distance freight cargo is specific and of no use whatsoever to whoever manages to randomly intercept it. Zoner Freeports offer corporations a platform to negotiate the return of their assets, as well as giving intelligence agencies a window to intercept information or insert agents.

Plenty of reasons the Zoners still exist. The better your imagination, the more reasons there are.

Also, interesting note about House agreements with Zoners regarding 'NFZs'. Every treaty negotiated so far has given House forces permission to go into the NFZ and remove 'known criminals', by force if need be.

So effectively, another reason for the toleration of Freeports is that they provide minimal cover for proven criminals and maximal coverage for lawfuls and traders. For all they preach about neutrality, the Houses get a much better political deal out of the Zoners' cooperation.

The Zoners also know their structures are permitted to exist at the mercy of local authorities, so it isn't a good idea to antagonise the Houses by trying to change that status quo. The Houses don't really recognise the Zoners as owning any space - they just put up with them squatting there for maximum personal gain.

Another thread with a lot of people claiming houses have control over the border worlds.

They don't.

Houses don't even have control over their own capital systems (see: Badlands etc.). They most certainly cannot effectively enforce laws outside of their most populated areas. I'm glad the rules nowadays reflect this and put an end to the power-grabbing, fun-ruining idiocy of the houses.

Zoners exists because they offer goods and services that are useful to people in the areas outside of house space, people from both sides of the spectrum - sure Freeports have become kind of notorious for harboring criminals, but they're often the only lawful ports in the area as well. It's a balance that clearly more or less works for everyone involved.