SSers are not disadvantages. They are usually expert players, and, when successful, provide more for the fam than most of a fams' players combined.
If you get 1-2 ss who just dont want to help
This happens, yes. But if appreciated and rewarded for their help they usually will. But it will be on their own terms, in their own ways, according to their own schedules, and conscience. Some won't be bothered with a fam which is going about on a fool's errand, or one which is bottom-feeding, or one with a bunch of players that despise SSers. There are as various reasons as there are various SSers. Some will sit back and watch as a fam blows its resources and GC and say nothing, but say to themselves, oh well, at least I was able to hone my SS skills a bit this round. Some will say something, try to advise, try to help. But if they think it is pointless...
On another note, a family bank system(or even a team system) fosters communication which would lead to any new players learning from the other players in their family.
I agree. I'm not against fam banking. But I'm certainly against FORCING everyone to participate under threat of being banned from the main galaxy.
How about a middle ground...... keep ss players in starburst but have them indicate when joining that they want to play ss. These ss players will all be put into a single ss family that has the aid function disabled to prevent people using this for illegal drafting. If players want to use this function to "draft" so they can ss together then let them (i dont see any harm in this)
No. SSers are a quintessential aspect to the game. One of the many results of having SSers in the main galaxy (at least those SSers who won't be bothered with dishonorable fams) is that they keep fams more honorable than otherwise.
I'm not saying an SSer who plays the game according to his conscience SHOULD turn on their own fam if it conducts itself dishonorably. I'm saying that SSers who play SS as a matter of conscience don't tend to support dishonorable fams. Consequently, fams with an SSer who won't help them because they are playing dishonorably are fams that won't do as well as an honorable fam with a happy, active SSer helping them. This tendency for dishonorable fams to suffer from having inactive SSers provides for some measure of accountability to fams to play honorably. It shouldn't be banned.
Also, I'm not saying all SSers play SS as a matter of conscience. They play SS for various reasons. Do some form nefarious secret alliances behind the scenes? Perhaps. I'm not saying that never happens.
Are there factions of SSers (those who fight for honor and fair play) who war other factions of SSers (maybe those who do so for nefarious purposes) in the main galaxies behind the scenes? There have been cases when this has happened.
There have also been personal beefs between SS players or groups of SS players that have gone on for round after round. Lots of players have gone SS and fought their own side wars that had nothing to do with what their fams were doing.
I am not saying that this sort of activity is good or bad. But I am saying is that that sort of activity is quintessentially IC, and has provided a sort of mystique to this game that has kept players coming back year after year for decades.
Banning that sort of activity is to change a quintessential aspect of what makes IC so intriguing.