I've been playing this game since Xbox GPP, I'm not a new comer. This is just one of the many and varied idiotic oversights in the design of the game. And considering the "cannon" is flapping in the breeze anyways with no solid anchor or even REAL time line not provided by a wiki your argument is silly they retcon and disregard so much of what goes on why would it matter if the Private/solo side isn't cannon? Those who hide in those modes don't WANT to be a part of the over all world, they shouldn't be allowed to manipulate it.
Oh, this is priceless...
This was a settled question long before the XBox GPP. You guys on the consoles were one of the REASONS it was a settled question. For so long as there are different instances there will be people that are never instanced together. You and I, for example. We're on different platforms and we can both be in open and the only two cmdrs in some system and we'll still never see each other. We're still playing in the same galaxy though, same BGS, same PP (not that I bother to paint a target on my back for zero real return, so don't PP at all)
Whatever platform you're on, whatever your matchmaking setting are, there are people on every platform with every possible variant of matchmaking setup that are both actively working against you and permanently invisible to you. This was the case before the game was even available on your platform and FDev had categorically stated that it would not change. Which you should have known before you bought in when it came available for your platform.
So either you managed to avoid coming within parsecs of anything resembling due diligence or you knew the situation and bought in anyway. Either way you're on pretty thin ice griping about it now.