I would like to have at least sectors with stations more busy. Whenever I jump into the sector and fly to the station, I have feeling I will be there alone (and many times I will).
This can be changed by adding some content to that sectors:
- more station guards
- more in/sector flights (adding probably some bigger ships around, making them fly back and forth)
- intercom voices, maybe in NFZ zone

== more pleasant feeling you are in living world, I agree this is pure salt, it will not add anything else, just the feeling. But I am missing it.

More difficult stuff to add:
- More trading/mining convoys traversing sectors, especially when station produces something, it should be in some (limited) way exported out of the sector.
( I can agree with statement, that this is UP TO PLAYERS, but I think that not necessarily EXCLUSIVELY),
Those convoys can be made on timely basis (similarly as border engagement announcements are). You can join to protect it. Or even, you can join to attack it (from another station/sector/system).

== again: better feeling, more opportunities for piracy, more possible missions.

NPC skirmishes:
- let NPCs fight themselves. Auto-group player which is becoming involved in the battle (on first hit basis). Reward him with XP and faction standing.

+1 to more traffic, but
-1 to NPC skirmishes (nonsense) and intercomm (/100 is noisy enough, and we have no traffic control)

It was improved a little ago, believe it, universe was even more empty. GS increase number of convoys, and it was a good improvement

There are a few other things (already suggested elsewhere) that could really improve traffic around stations, and make universe more ALIVE:
1) Mining NPCs and bots, in every station sector. They launch, go mine nearby and return after 5min
2) Military fleets with capship circulating around barracks and capital stations, doubled at border sectors.

And I agree, it is more important to concentrate NPC traffic to station sectors, even more at capitals. So, less important but interesting would be:
3) Lone traders as recurring characters, like taking food/steel/etc from station A to B, and returning with ores/textiles/etc. (Relate to station type)
4) Unrats, NPC pirates, preferably as hive bot packs instead of "people". Simply the hive is harvesting scrap and cargo.

Since the sector will suspend its thread if no one is there, I guess impact is low on servers. And the visual feedback really enriches VO experience.

There have been a few extra Tridents floating around Itani space as of late.

Alloh@:
"-1 to NPC skirmishes (nonsense) "

Don't agree much, I can see NPCs killing themselves already. For example in Bractus, just infront of the station.

I don't think it is nonsense. Imagine you can join the skirmish. When you hit someone from evil side, you would become group member. After the fight is over, you can get little more XPs ... and mainly, you would feel you are part of it, not just flying around.
The same applies to:
+ national border sectors around jump-points.
+ greyspace stations (as it is already)
+ important asteroid belts (protecting/attacking harvesting drones)

I see value added even when you couldn't join those skirmishes into the group. Just having them on appropriate places would be very nice and welcome.

But otherwise, I respect and thank you for your opinion.

@abortretryfail:
OK, I spot them already, but I didn't recall it when writing the comment. Good to see it in the VO, then :)

+1 for random nation and corporation aligned NPC taur and moth miners and Atlas traders

Y'ar!

2) Military fleets with capship circulating around barracks and capital stations, doubled at border sectors.

+1, but no need in capships, atm they're useless against fighters.

@pirren
For me, it is only makes sense to call it a "military fleet" if it is composed with at least 3 cappies and many escorts, like a HAC, 2 tridents and dozens of fighters. Twice the largest trade convoy you ever saw.

@astib
How relate it to standing? Factions?
You probably saw the CtC voy stuck. The VO backstory says the only conflicts left are Deneb war, the Hive and the rats. We don't have NPC rats, despite often requested. The Hive avoids station sectors (due a bug it used to attack conquerable station sectors, and it was FUN!). So we should not have any NPC combat around stations.

Station sectors are guarded, and enemy presence invokes hordes of guards and strike force to ensure it remains peacefull.

But we could have ion storms and the hive in grayspace sectors with stations, as a justification for why nations does not encompass it.