The problems are not in the alliance sizes.
The problems are the peoples attitudes.
People are not willing to work for their galaxys/alliances and for the games good, when it comes to game play for example or educating a new player.
When the core of the game isnt mature enough to think beyond their own success. The game runners can enforce the attitudes in right place via code solutions ingame.
Give a reward from recruiting and educating a player. This can be made thrue a friend list also, not only by alliances. -
so a friends list. a referral system, which we have already and could build on. Do you mean you can refer up to x players for a bonus in resources when they reach value xxxxxx? you realise that everyone will refer each other, right? 
Give a reward for attacking experienced player versus a new joiner. -
XP + increased roid cap
Give a reward attacking higher tire alliance, creating that competition on top. -
XP + increased roid cap + more alliance points
Give a reward for active suggestion/feed back/game improvement ideas. -
not all ideas are good ideas; also, our problem has never been coming up with ideas
Give a reward running an alliance or running a galaxy. For example provide tools/forum sections/advertisement base/give own personal pa mail address/what ever could attract people on making the efforts. Perhaps even some free credits? -
the winners do get this.
Give a reward for players nominated to minister/bc/hc tasks. -
why minister? why not just make everyone in the alliance a hc/bc, so you get more resources?
Give a reward for answearing to help questions (hello create an universal forum section ingame for questions and aid needed) -
#bootcamp and #support
Give alliances bonuses with an open recruitment. -
extremely hard to categorise. Is an alliance who has the limit of players going to be penalised? What's to stop alliances saying they have an open recruitment but rejecting people?
Give alliances bonuses whom accept totally new players. -
again, how do you capture this data?
Build alliance constructions/extra tools and divide the costs to playerbase amount. Support the smaller/starting alliances by lower costs. -
I have no idea what you mean by this. I don't see how extra tools have extra costs? do you mean that smaller alliances should have cheaper alliance constructions?
Give a punishment from attacking too small players. Forces people to fight with another players on the same levels of gaming. You can still attack whom u wish, but on a long run taking the punishment is not wise. -
XP + increased roid cap for attacking bigger planets? bash limit, too.
Give a punishement for targeting low tire alliances. Forcing alliances to fight on their own fields of levels. You can still attack whom u want, but on a long run taking the punishment is not wise. -
XP,increased roid cap, alliance points system
Give a punishment for exiling a galaxy, even kill the option entirely. -
exiling from a galaxy, do you mean? like, paying a huge amount of resources?
Give a punishment for leaving an alliance midround. -
say, not being able to join an alliance for 48 ticks and reducing the score you give future alliances?
Give a punishment from cheating. -
closing your account
Give a bonus from using forums/chat tools/the things to keep the game alive in between ticks. Reward active participation to community, do not enforce this how ever. -
this seems pretty vague. "On IRC, have some resources?". I'm not sure I understand.
Create ranks/tables for made kills, lost units and so on, reward players whom sacrificed own fleet for kills, for example alliance wars. And add the attackers salvage for battles sake. Makes the EMP race more usefull aswell.
-
We do have this data. The EMP race is useful. Why should we reward suiciders; most people believe suiciders who play for xp and not for value should be punished anyway?
And the list goes on...
Obviously we can reward the winners then aswell more happily, when we know they have earned it.
All this will help new players enter and stay aswell! Might limit oldies play a bit, but same makes it more competetive and challencing as it should be when the time goes on and u learn the game better. Makes it easier to start new alliances and have enough support from the admins to it and ingame by having right circumstances to face.
Obviously enforcing or adding all this is huge amount of effort and fixing and creating them unabusable, but this will enforce the players to play the game "right" and in fair circumstances, weather u choose a top or low tire alliance or weather u are a veteran or a new starting player.
You dont have to make it extreme hard and tricky to work your way up there, just add enough carrots to make u think the choises on your road.