On automation:
I understand the desire to avoid automation; bots and poorly coded implementations cause havoc on servers and ruin game balance for human players.
However, there are a couple of use cases where automation (of sorts) could be implemented in-game, with a ‘command terminal’ for example, that could massively improve QOL.
Use case the first:
Restocking of consumables from the Local Market; SNF runs a centralised buffer on our big planets to manage imports of bulk consumables, and so once a week or so each of us place LM ads for ~5 different consumables at pre-agreed prices. Creating each of these ads takes at least 5 mouse clicks (as there’s no tab-completion for materials), and that’s if you’re running multiple monitors to lookup the pre-agreed prices.
Use case the second:
Scheduled flights; I know exactly how much fuel I want to use, what cargo i want to take and when to depart. However, I also know that perhaps sleep and work could be more important than Capitalism Simulator: Spreadsheet Edition. Playing about with sliders and the amount of fuel in my tanks to get these desired numbers is uh, the worst.
There are some other fringe use cases I can feel but not describe, mostly around production queues for many-recipe buildings. Also, completing contracts that are a million pages down my CONT book
Proposed Solution:
PRO feature with a buffer that allows POSTing payloads from a strict list and with input cleansing, similar to a terminal; ideally with flags to delay execution. In the use cases above, I could generate the payload programmatically from my spreadsheets, and just copypasta it in. This could also be rate-limited or FIFO-stacked to reduce server demand and prevent excessive advantage. This solution preserves the intent of the rule while providing an easier method of programmatic input short of automation that would alleviate many of the use cases for it. (High-Volume Traders and .01’ers will always be suspect 
)
One counterpoint to this is that the clicks are essentially the ‘paperwork’ of PrUn, and that if i want to do less paperwork i should be ordering in bulk and doing trades less often.
PS. Did i mention the lack of Tab Completion For Materials?