Was that you?
I've seen a few hollow boxes so far, I think all in Lave. Usually they are jumping out 2-3 seconds after I jump into a system. I've also been surprised at a station tunnel a couple of times. Lucky I was on the green side as someone came boosting out the center. As I'm not using shields, a hit like that would kill me.
I'm no Chatty Cathy myself, and I'm not sure I would be able to use the chat system if I tried. I think most commanders are too busy doing their own thing to really notice other commanders. I haven't even got another commanders name yet. I still feel it may be a little rude to turn on someone and target them. I would be nice if the contact list would show commanders - not just ship types.
Now I'm over 100LY away from Lave and I don't even see any other commanders in open play (just had to check).