Trading exploration data?

[Arubeto]

Like the title suggests: I was wondering how the community feels about the option to trade exploration data between players (and perhaps NPCs in the future).

The original design of exploration in ED has changed quite a bit from the ambitious goals described in the DDA thread (https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6418), but the idea of trading exploration data to other players instead of selling it to Universal Cartographics always intrigued me. It sounded like an interesting twist to the exploration mechanic and a reason for pirates to interdict not just traders but explorers, too.

What do you guys think about this feature? Would you like to see it implemented? Would it enhance exploring as a "trail to blaze"? Or do you think it wouldn't add anything and is not needed?

 

[Whiterose]

I cant see there would be much uptake, and personally I am against giving anything away, commodities, money. Also it might post some technical challenges.

 

[Glenn Ross]

I could see the point of adding a 'black box' for information to the ships. That way both bounty hunters and explorers run the risk of being the victim of pirates, just like traders, rather than just being murdered for no gain to anyone.
Selling data to other players, however, I don't understand.
1. How would you agree on a price? What may be worthless to someone could be very valuable to someone else.
2. How would it affect your exploration rank if you sell all your data to other players rather than UC? Would you also increase your trading rank at the same time?
3. Could you sell the same data - i.e. you only sell a copy of the data, not the original - multiple times?

I really don't see the point of only being able to sell it just the once. You certainly only sell a copy to UC at the moment - the data doesn't vanish from your own ship once you sell - so you should be able to sell the same data to multiple players, and if I am selling to players, why would that not increase my trading rank as well?