Nicely worded Hank
>"The only thing which can be realistically traded between separate species is information, knowledge."
Your whole post is very reasonable. I think other races would observe us first for great lengths of time, eons possibly. They may know the universe has a natural rhythm, and we are just part of that rhythm. They may be studying us as we study colonies of ants or the migration of bears. Maybe they know we are self-destructive and refuse to get involved with us.
Maybe.