(it was bound to happen)

Added Someone to the keychain and they were still unable to dock. They confirmed they received the key, I confirmed that "can dock" was checked, they tried leaving sector and returning, logging out & in, then I changed sectors, logged out then in, cycling the "can dock" and IFF checkboxes at every stage of these experiments... No joy. All the while, someone I had given a key to days ago was able to dock. I was able to give immediate access a few days ago, without either party having to change sectors, log, or perform voodoo rituals.

Also, the green check on both owner and user keys seem to come & go, and the IFF checkbox resets to unchecked, I assume because that is a station game mechanic.

iirc with the stations, time solved the issue: that eventually the server sync'd up the access, but it would sure be nice to hand over a key and say with confidence, "come aboard!"

ok this is becoming a real nuisance. I give a key and even days later that pilot cannot dock.

and yet more random behavior:

I was able to give immediate user-key access to prinv and Greenwall yesterday, while EVWeb could not dock in the several hours after I issued his key. I haven't checked back with Mogwai, the pilot mentioned above, but his key was a week old with no docking possible last try, and Star Buck, who had been on the keychain since June could not dock last night either. Yes, there was room aboard: most of these attempts were with 0-1 people already docked.

I wonder if my testing of the /gunner commands on the trident somehow scrambled the player count, or maybe one of the two client crashes I've had with passengers aboard did something whacky.

A soccer mom's kickass minvan is not very useful if she can't unlock the doors...

There are no kickass minivans. Now, if you want to upgrade to a non-mini van....

Awww Yeah! But now I'm thinkin' something more like the Urban Assault Vehicle from "Stripes":

Are those volvo seats in that snowcat van? Awww yeaaaah

Actually I think either of these could kick the Trident M's ass with the currently available loadouts.

Seriously: this is ridiculous! Star Buck STILL can't dock. I tried revoking and reissuing his user key, still he gets "you can not enter this ship".

If a trident pilot can't give a key and say come aboard, it really limits one of the few uses this ship has.

Still getting denied access, usually with Serco characters, and I have a theory I will investigate further: Do player capships have the same faction rules as NPC cappies? Do pilots need respect or better with the owner's nation to board? If so I would humbly suggest it be removed for player ships. The key should be all they need. Captain's prerogative, discretion, mood swings, what have you...

Sorry about this. We'll check it out as soon as we can.

What's the exact error message that he gets when he attempts to dock? There's no error "you can not enter this ship". Knowing this will help determine what is preventing him from docking.

The checks are in this order:
1. CTF and missions may prevent docking
2. Not having proper prerequisites (including access key) may prevent docking
3. Ship being full may prevent docking
4. Being non-member of convoy (for convoy ships) may prevent docking
5. Being of hated nation may prevent docking

So, yeah, the same nation check is done as for NPC capships.

5. Being of hated nation may prevent docking

So, yeah, the same nation check is done as for NPC capships.

That doesn't really make a whole lot of sense for player-owned ships. Perhaps we could not-do that?

Ray,
By CTF you mean carrying CtC Purified Xithricite Ore right?

They get the "you can not enter this ship" message. Nobody in the group was on a mission, and it happens even if there is nobody yet aboard.

Confirmed that Star Buck was indeed UIT Neutral when the problem happened, and can dock now that his UIT faction is back up.

This is fixed in tonight's update.