I've been watching classic Star Trek recently, and it got me thinking about first contact situations between space faring races and worlds which do not have space flight. In the Star Trek universe the Federation has the concept of the Prime Directive to prevent less advanced civilizations from being overwhelmed by influences from the more advanced. But how would they decide when a civilization is ready to be contacted, and how would they do it? What sort of protocols would be involved? Only a few Trek stories deal with first contact and the stories I remember aren't consistent with each other. I'm starting from the Trek viewpoint but I'd be interested in other opinions as well. I'm also considering situations where the more advanced race wants to work with the less advanced rather than conquer them.
