One of the problems is, and I know I had this one for a long time before I "got it", is this. It is damn hard to keep your rep at "Freelancer" level.
Ok suppose you're a noob and you make a new char. Right off the bat lawfuls start as green and unlawfuls are generally red, so to make money your natural reaction is to to jobs for lawfuls killing pirates. Before you know it *bam* you have a Navy tag.
But to be a true Freelancer you should have affiliation with no one. So you have to work "against" the lawfuls to both eliminate your tag, and improve your rep with unlawfuls. And so goes the see-saw tips back and forth.
Of course we know how the balancing act goes, by experience. But many new players have no idea how all this mumbo-jumbo works. Result, we get the ridiculous situations outlined above. We also know the problem is not limited to those playing Freelancers. Example: my Corsair char has killed so many BHG's in Gamma he is now *green* with Outcasts! Can you believe it? Does this mean I should be docking at Malta.... of course not. Because I know better.
Unfortunately this is all an inherent flaw (or "feature") in FL, one which is compounded by the artificial addition of our multiplayer clans. O well. The only real solution is edu-ma-cation.
