Why is the community population declining?

[Anaximander]

True , but a majority of these guys use the generic pirate ID because it gives the ''best'' deal.
can use anything (with nerf) and no ZOI restrictions.
there also is no governing force (read official faction) that can guide them in the right direction.

You know, sometimes I have some of those players suspected for being otherwise "respectable players" that do these things because they think "everyone else does it" or because "indies suck anyways". After all it takes some Disco-knowledge to utilise loopholes/soft regulation.

I never saw piracy as a problem - or rather, I've seen the lack of pirates as a problem. One should also never forget that in many a traders book, pirates are oorp unless they write them a novel or pirate for songs. It's hardly the pirate side's fault that they get do much negative attention, it's in the trade after all.

In fact I played this game for an obscene number of hours over the years, and only twice have I had to report pirates, whereas I run into silent, gun-toting traders every time I log a pirate character. And I have traded A LOT to keep my hangar full of BS's a d CAU8's.