Mistwraith idea is not as bad as mine
+ it gives something to do to a Minister (logically the MoW). New players can be alliance less but nobody is galaxy less, and I too believe the first step in playing PA is by working with your gal. I have seen noobs communicating over forums and PA mails without ever coming to IRC and guess what... it works too.
What makes things difficult for new players is that they're asked to use external tools just to play for the game they signed in.