Liners and Piracy

[Denelo]

Also, I don't really think pirates need access to the prison liner--the prison liner is the lawful side of things, the slave liner is the unlawful side.

Uh. It's not that cut-and-dry. Hijacking's already been mentioned, but there's numerous other ways it could happen. It's not only restricted to piracy, either. As one of the few people on the server who actually wants to roleplay a liner - and has to jump through completely nonsensical hoops to do so, as the PLiner in question is unlawful - I can relate to this first-hand.

Anyone remember this? The Ichihara escaped, but it's currently sitting in dry dock for multiple reasons. When it does get out, though, how am I going to fly it? Currently, I have it on a Researcher ID, but, despite the fact that that ID is sold on a Blood Dragon base, it isn't allowed to dock on any non-Junker, non-Order unlawful bases. It also doesn't make a ton of a sense, as the liner is hardly a research ship. Nevertheless, because of the rules, my roleplay is heavily restricted, and I have to do silly things to continue the roleplay.

"Oh, but you don't need the ship to continue your roleplay!", you might cry. Really? To roleplay is to play a role (obviously). My character would never give up an asset like that; it's simply too valuable. However, this character is allowed to fly warships belonging to direct enemies of hers (such as the Kusari Explorer), but not a liner that it makes perfect sense for her to have. Why?

The above is merely an example of why this is a very silly rule - a position I have held ever since it was implemented, long before it affected me in any way. The original idea was that liners were too powerful; people were flying them instead of regular transports for trading, and the transport-liner definition split was designed to correct that. However, that's simply not the case any more. Several transports are more powerful than most liners from weapon standpoint, and with more cargo and armor to boot. These transports are also usually smaller and more agile than the clunky liner. The Shire, Golem, and Stork immediately come to mind, among others.

What's the point of this rule, then? Is there even one anymore? I don't think so. It's outdated, but hasn't been challenged yet. I would wholeheartedly support any definition alteration to change liners back to transports. They have the worst routes in the game - most not even good routes in a 5k, much less in a liner - with less cargo, less escapability, and worse firing arcs than most transports in the game.