Dark Orbit tip: Newbie with smaller ship
For those Dark Orbit players that have smaller ships there are ways to avoid getting kill by goliaths ( huge ships). Please see the following list of ways to limit the time that you are kill.
- stay close to a port ( make a quick escape)
-venture out during higher traffic periods ( even if the bigger elite ships are hunting noobs, you’re less of a target. Also more of your company will be on during those time.)
- get cloaking ( you will still appear as a red dot on the mini map, but they will not know if your a smaller ship, so making you less of a prey.) (note: it cost 500u to cloak)
-get a faster engine ( you can run away quicker. Please note that more often than not the goliath ships have faster engine, so you run the risk of being chase down)
-if you’re in neutral zone protection don’t fire otherwise you will lose the protection and get kill
-pay attention to the yellow bar to the right of the mini map. This bar indicates the number of enemy ships in your area. If it is high you should stay near a portal.
-form a federation with other newbies ( there are instances with a gang of newbies can chase away a Goliath )
Although Dark Orbit is not very newbie friendly, I think if you use the above-mentioned methods and keep playing you will eventually get to the point where you are one of the big boys. Then it will be your decision on who to persuade.
What players who are piloting bigger ships should realize is that killing smaller ships add very little honor points. But if this is their long term strategy than they are out for a whipping as some of these smaller ships will grow into bigger ones and will have a laser with their name on it. 
I do not practice this because I want this game to continue to draw in more players. If a newbie starts playing this game, but get discourage after a few hours or days of play because they are kill, then the whole community loses.
But there are those in the games that feel like they have earned the privilege of killing smaller ships, so to each his own.
Remember above all else that is a game and it remain a game in your mind. Have fun playing it and I look forward to your next encounter.