A Karma system, or an action-consequence system would add lots to the game, if implemented well.
All actions should have lasting repercussions, not necessarily ever-lasting, but lasting. I'm not talking just about ED's usual one-way PvP, I'm talking about all things in game.
- Someone who amasses lots of illegal kills should be hunted down in lawful systems, and denied access to docking and services in the places where the crimes are commited.
- Someone who abandons a powerplay faction should be barred from returning to it for a long time. And should also be barred from joining another for a bit of time, or start at the rock bottom of that faction reputation. Nobody likes turncoats.
- A johnny-do-gooder should not have access to black markets, nor be able to access the best criminal faction missions unless he makes a name for himself first as a shady character.
- If you kill some factions ships to farm bonds, or any other hostile acts against the faction, that faction should be at you, really . They would not allow you to dock in stations they control for quite a while, and reputation should plummet to the ground.
- Superpower ranking should be exclusive.
I could go on forever...
Right now nothing that we do has consequences beyond a short term minor inconvenience at best.
If this incoming karma system is just to police things like station trolling, or is applied only to player-player actions, then meh...