Depends on who I'm playing.
If I'm doing the Certdsh, who are xenophobic isolationists (mostly) I tell them to stay out, then cut off contact except for warnings. This resulted in a scenerio that was eerily like one of the Bolo books I had read- except I bailed before the war started. Literally- I packed up the Certdsh and left! Neutral happyness is a PAIN, FYI.
If I'm playing the race I'm using in Puke's end of the universe game, I try to be friendly with everyone. They're sorta hippy-like actually. "Hey, you glassed one of my planets. Cool light show, man.." OK, not THAT bad, but still
Phoenix-D