Well, classifying ships has always been a rather imprecise art. Different people like to classify their ships differently, and with any classification system, there will always be ships that don\'t exactly fit.
In the real world, (sea-going) ships are classified in two ways; total tonnage, and the intended use of the vessel. So in starmade, I tend to go about classifying ships is by their total mass, and their intended role.
It\'s not as easy as it sounds, however.
For example, you might get several different fighters intended for several different roles. One may be intended to deter other fighters and protect slower, heavier ships, such as bombers. This would be an Escort fighter. You might also have another fighter, one that\'s designed for taking out bombers. This would still be classifed as a fighter, but it would also fall under the sub-catagory of an Inteceptor.