There have been some reasonable points made. And some unreasonable ones. And some flames. And I think a puppy got caught in a crossfire.
Let me throw my two hay-pennies in.
I have a Trader as my primary character. And I have worked hard to make the money I have (point of pride: never done the Nobium run, but that's irrelevant).
I RP. Its why I joined. Does that mean I stop everytime I see a pirate? Hell no. My Merchant wants to get his cargo through - I see a pirate on scanner, I head around him if I can. That said, I HAVE and DO stop for pirates when the situation so demands.
Like CD's and gratuitous plasma to my shields. That tends to stop me.
I have had some EXCELLENT RPing with pirates before. In one instance, the pirate did some great innuendo-laced polite niceties.
'How are your passengers, sir? Alive? Dangerous parts, these. Bet they're nervous about rifraff that might space them.'
I payed him.
I have also had some EXCELLENT RP fleeing a pirate. It was a game of cat and mouse with this dude, flitting the edges of the system while we both faded on and off our respective radars. He knew where I needed to get, and tried to hound me at every step - I was lucky enough to get past him, and not pay.
Let me make my point. There are terrible RPers that are Traders. There are an equal number of 'kthnxbai' pirates. To make any sweeping generalization about either group is a fallacy.
As much as we want to be able to fix a rule here or there and restrict these bad RPers, we cannot. There is no utopia we can set up with the rules because at the end of the day it is the individual choices each player makes that will add up to a pleasurable or unsatisfying RP.
By all means, work with diligence to ensure that the self-serving human drives are curbed by adequate rules. But you cannot 'fix' RPers with rules. Not gonna happen. Ever.
Enjoy yourself. RP to the best of your ability, and have fun as best you can. Anything beyond that will only end in frustration.
[This ill-concieved advice brought to you by Jack_Agincourt]
Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace.
