Hum-de-dum... Oh! Well, look at that. Yet another arguement on the Discovery forums. Well, I might take a crack putting my thoughts into it, seeing if it helps anything...
SF Flying Rheinland Cruiser Arguement:
I feel that this matter can be solved with a simple request sent to an RM official asking if the SF may have a Rheinland Cruiser to add to their fleet. Seeing as the RM are real people that can be negotiated with, it does seem a bit rude to take someone's ship without asking. I'm sure that the Rheinland Military would like to know beforehand that there will be a member of the Sirius Federation flying one of their ships.
BS| and StarWars Ships Arguement:
In the Freelancer world, ships such as the Bounty Hunter Battleship and the Bounty Hunter Destroyer are indeed modeled after StarWars ships. There are quite a few other ships in Discovery that have been taken from other stories. However, seeing as in the Freelancer world, they were built (or rebuilt) by Bounty Hunters, I believe that they should be left to Bounty Hunters and other allies of Bounty Hunters. If, say, their InfoCards were changed to say that these ships were created by some other faction, such as The Order, or the Zoners, then I think it would be fine for the Black Squadron to use these ships. Keep in mind that we are playing in the Freelancer universe, and that our roleplay is (or should be) centered around that universe. If you bring in elements from other universes, they must still conform to the rules of the Freelancer universe.
Zoners/Civilians Arguement:
The way I see things, Zoners and Civilians are indeed two different 'factions' in Freelancer. Zoners are people who just wanted to "get away from it all", and live a free life outside of normal house control. Civilians, however, live just about anywhere, on planets, in stations, etc. They are normal, everyday people who have a home, a job, and most likely a family. Civilans usually live out their lives on one planet or one station. If they want to move to another planet/station, then they hire someone to come pick them up and fly them somewhere else. The main difference is this: Most civilians don't have ships capable of space flight. The so-called "Civilian Ships" that are manufactured by the Zoners are really only used for anyone who wants them and can afford them. Just as someone today can buy a private jet, people in Freelancer can buy themselves a private space-ship. Civilan ships can also be used by any "faction" that doesn't have any ships of their own, like most in-game trading companies, or even a few pirates. Zoners use these ships too, of course, because they make them, but that does not make the Zoners "Civilians" just because the ship is classified as a civilian ship.
I suppose that I have much more to say, but I will leave it for later. Coming up with these long, detailed posts really takes a lot out of me. Please, just try not flame this place up any more than it already is? :)