we're just waitin for elite to come back

If you really want to play co-operatively with someone, it would be useful to get a friend to join you on the server...then you just meet up in-game.

In a game like this, I think there are people around who wouldn't mind being with someone. So just keep looking and hopefully someone will turn up. Besides, it's beneficial when you're attacked...with 2-3 ships, you would have a much better chance than with just 1. On the other hand, there could be a dispute as to where to go and what to do next.

I hear ya. I want to fly some co-op missions but have trouble finding anyone to join in.

I hire escorts for my freight runs all the time. Just state your terms and offer a reasonable fee.

MP gives too much freedom - no rules at all infact, and that's bad. MP could be either pvp, which is pointless because the winner doesnt get anything worthy for the kill (i don't think that the taste of victory is enough), or coop, which is impractical because while the missions do get much easier to win, loot sharing slows leveling up.

PVP here needs either some point of focus and rules, or a worthy reward for the winner and serious penalty for the loser. COOP needs higher mission rewards.

IMHO, of course

I have always found someone to fly around with. The server with my main character(which was down last I checked, hope it back up today) I fly around exploring with someone who knows a lot more about the locations of jump holes and best trade routes. We have both gotten to a decent level(used a humpback for awhile and he helped escort me for free ) so now we will sometimes head back to new york and pick up a group of newbies and take them along with us on trade runs. We got a nice fleet of fighters forming up with the people we were taking with us.