Fine, I'll give you guys the mineral/scientist info before you make decisions, that will happen as soon as factions are nailed down. You can start with JP theory if you like, but keep in mind it is a pretty big chunk of your initial RP. You will not be able to start with the JPs surveyed though you will be able to have a grav survey ship or two at the start, assuming you can afford one.
As for fast OB creation giving stuff for free, I will account for that by ignoring it for the most part, but obvious attempts to game the system by using your entire allocation on huge tankers or colliers will be frowned upon, and you will be asked to submit a bit more of a balanced fleet.
By the same token you should make your component requests reasonable, I'll just pick the semi-arbitrary number of 500rp being the largest at game start that you get for free. Exceptions might be made if you can argue it with me and it won't unbalance things.
I am pricing all installations on their wealth cost, shipyards I think are 2400 base, and if I recall correctly tonnage increases are costed at one for one. Not sure about extra slips, but the tables are somewhere on this site or the wiki.
Tech trades are permitted, however you will need to send a ship physically to your trade partners homeworld to make the swap safely, you can transmit it electronically if you prefer, but then i will give the other empires a chance to intercept if there is a ship, colony, or listening post in between you and your recipient. This will encourage you to build listening posts despite not needing the passive sensor coverage.
The default espionage rules are in effect because I like them and they don't require a lot out of me.
Someone asked about if they could have one of Jupiter's moons even though another faction already grabbed one, the answer is sure, just be aware that puts you pretty close to someone who might be touchy about it. Possible consequences include being easily within active sensor range, also missiles from PDC's might be able to range you with no effort.