you're spinning off things in your last sentence again. zoners aren't complicated "per se", zoners are complicated because people here made them complicated..
Do you really think so much of zoners that if they weren't there OC and Corsairs wouldnt find a place of peace to talk or shoot other nations together?
To make it even more interesting, it is Trafalgar base in New London where rumors are about OC and Corsair romance, not Freeports 3, 5, 11 or 9.
In lore - zoners are providing both OC and Corsairs with things they need, they offer to resolve inner disputes and aid the troubled people in the space.
In rp zoners trade most valuable trade routes and scream for neutrality or misunderstanding of their roleplay because "Trading food to Crete or Pharma to Malta is a job that yields no profit and makes no one appreciates you"
Actions in roleplay - have reactions in roleplay. If 2 months passes without a single zoner convoy to Crete, tell me - should we actually consider them buddies?
Now, just to point out how insulting your last sentence actually is, I'll throw in mine.
After all this I've said, it is pretty obvious that while Zoner roleplay is complex, it is not being actually roleplayed. Either you agree, or you're having trouble understanding the complexity of the zoners. (what would be understandable, because people usually have hard time grasping some concepts)
see, it's calling you dumb unless you agree with me.