Speaking of color, scrolling through the list of players, anything other than Never Met (like encountered) should be a different color to stand out. It would also be helpful to be able to filter this list in a similar manner to the planets, to only see those that you've encountered.

Tobias happens to be one that I've encountered! (I've tried to send you a message, but for some reason the network times out when I'm imposing it every time. Not with other players, just with you!)