Homeowners don’t have legal rights to the street parking in front of their homes, but ignoring their emotional claim is rude, readers say.
Yeah, yeah, it’s a public street and fair game for parking, but is it OK to be territorial about the spots in front of your house?
![OK To Be Territorial About Parking In Front Of Your Home? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/790386/20250220/094612/styles/patch_image/public/block-talk-on-street-parking-shutterstock-2474179563___20214418711.jpg)
It’s fine for service dogs to be in stores, but most survey respondents said pets shouldn’t. Poop and slobber were big sticking points.
![‘Poop Cleanup In Aisle 9’: Hard Pass On Dogs In Stores [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20250213/105310/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2494729659___13222320353.jpg)
Americans increasingly treat their dogs like family members, but should they take them shopping to the grocery store and other places?
![When Did It Become OK To Take Dogs To The Grocery Store? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20250206/045239/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2451939007___06165136774.jpg)
Rethinking street designs, speed traps, speed bumps and traffic enforcement cameras all got votes from readers. So did common sense.
![Residential Streets Aren’t Racetracks: Slowing Speeders [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20250131/050130/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-216959035___31165951043.jpg)
Three people have died in the time a Patch reader has been trying to stop speeding in her neighborhood. What should she do?
![How Do You Make People Slow Down On Residential Streets? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20250115/055855/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-295156286___15175727875.jpg)
Confronting litterers is a bad idea, readers say. Instead, do your bit, pick up trash and before you know it, you may inspire a movement.
![You Are Probably Trash If You Toss Litter Out The Window [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20250110/050144/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2298357409___10165920648.jpg)
We’re better than we were. Still, some people think nothing of throwing trash from their cars or leaving it for someone else to deal with.
![Why Do Some People Think The World Is Their Trash Can? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20250102/114841/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1036606723___02114135729.jpg)
Noise, parking, driving and inclusion also got mentions in our survey of what readers would change about their neighbors and neighborhoods.
![Free-Range Kids A Top Neighborhood Peeve [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20241227/051953/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2480807809___27171515628.jpg)
If you could change one thing about your neighborhood or community, what would it be?
![What Do You Wish Were Different In Your Neighborhood? [Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20241219/071640/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2151024933___19191538161.jpg)
No holiday tradition symbolizes the joy of season quite like caroling, and readers say they’d like to see it come back.
![What Community Holiday Traditions Should Be Brought Back? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20241213/034649/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1781598338___13154041868.jpg)
If you could bring back a once common neighborhood custom — such as caroling, cookie exchanges and drop-in open houses — what would it be?
![What’s Your Favorite Holiday Tradition? [Block Talk Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20241205/030312/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1585059667___05145934752.jpg)
Has “tipflation” — the explosion in the number of service providers expecting a tip — changed the etiquette of holiday tipping?
As the peak of parcel-shipping season nears, readers offer some tips on how to curtail package thefts, a multi-billion-dollar criminal enter
![Porch Pirates Stealing Packages? Here Are Some Tips [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20241127/043315/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1801386625___27162716375.jpg)
Porch pirates stole $12 billion in packages from about 58 million Americans in the past year. What can you do to prevent delivery thefts?
![How Do You Stop Porch Pirates? [Block Talk Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20241122/031425/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1725082078___22151219426.jpg)
Thanksgiving is the “middle child” of holidays caught between over-the-top Halloween and Christmas decorations, several readers said.
![Is It Too Early For Christmas Lights? Readers Weigh In [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20241115/035831/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1184534224___15155405802.jpg)
It’s tradition in many neighborhoods to wait until Thanksgiving to turn on holiday lights, but the Christmas season is short this year.
![Is It Too Soon To Put Up Holiday Lights? [Block Talk Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20241108/021841/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1029370951___08141727292.jpg)
The gig economy flourished during the pandemic, changing the tipping culture in America; let’s walk that back, readers overwhelmingly say.
![Tipping Culture Is Over The Top, Readers Say In Survey [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20241101/045159/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2531924249___01165019807.jpg)
A seismic shift in how Americans make a living changed the culture of tipping, and now workers at every turn seem to expect a fat gratuity.
![Has The Tipping Culture Hit A Tipping Point? [Block Talk Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20241025/022907/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2328873613___25142650128.jpg)
Patch readers responding to our Halloween candy throwdown survey don’t want this candy. Do you agree?
![This Classic Got No Respect In Halloween Candy Throwdown [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20241018/044658/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1511409761___18164614453.jpg)
What candy is best on Halloween? What “treats” — or, more likely, “tricks” — make people the scariest in their neighborhoods?
![Halloween Trick-Or-Treat Candy Throwdown Poll [Block Talk Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/790386/20241009/013003/styles/patch_image/public/102022-ped-halloween-candy-02___09132630575.jpg)
Often, a polite talk will resolve issues with intrusive outdoor lighting; it may be time to ask local officials to address light pollution.
![Blinded By The Light: What To Do About Light Pollution [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20241004/042952/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1742824472___04162727473.jpg)
A Patch reader wonders if it’s really necessary for her neighbor to keep their intrusively bright LED and halogen lights burning all night.
![What Do You Do About Neighbor’s Bright Lights? [Block Talk Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240926/061341/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1695466663___26181232368.jpg)
One reader wants her neighbors to complain that the upkeep of her property bugs them, thereby shaming her husband into getting off his bum.
![Be Cordial To Neighbors Who Bug You? Or ‘Go Lower’? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240920/035846/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-305640428___20155515222.jpg)
Most of us want to have cordial relationships with our neighbors. But when they do things that bug you, how do you talk to them about it?
![How Do You Talk To Neighbors About What Bugs You? [Block Talk Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240917/122314/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2454210005___17122253865.jpg)
From neighbors who have barking, snarling dogs to “basement tenants from hell” to smokers, tokers and fire stokers, readers dish.
![Annoying Neighbors: Let Us Count The Ways, Readers Say [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240830/040725/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2369810199___30160157580.jpg)
Do your neighbors party and play loud music all night, let their dogs bark, or have zero cares to give about the upkeep of their property?
![Annoying Neighbors: What Ticks You Off? [Block Talk Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240821/023936/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1299304078___21143814902.jpg)
Readers said getting the kids out of the car without delay is the code, but another pointed out “there are challenges you cannot see.”
![Entitled, Rude Parents Ruin School Drop-Off For Everyone [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240816/042737/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2401451187___16162247668.jpg)
The school drop-off and pick-up lane is torture because of some parents. Does it have to be this painful? What constitutes proper etiquette?
![Does The School Drop-Off Lane Have To Be Torture? [Block Talk Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240808/060223/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-199125329___08180052598.jpg)
Bullies, conspiracy theories and politicizing everything can suck the fun out of interacting on community social media forums, readers said.
![Community Facebook Page Etiquette: The Good, Bad And Ugly [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240802/014940/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2452654291___02014637882.jpg)
Your community’s social media page may bring out the best in your neighbors. Or the worst. What’s the best way to keep discussions civil?
![What’s The Etiquette For Community Facebook Pages? [Block Talk Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240725/035118/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2459771611___25154504590.jpg)
Just who are these people, readers wondered, and do you really want to know them if they’d keep packages delivered to them by mistake?
![Not Your Package? Will You Keep It Or Be A Decent Human? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240719/031456/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2304605183___19151130092.jpg)
Do you take the package to the intended recipient? Is it OK to check the addresses on a neighbor’s packages as you search for yours?
![Package Delivery Never Shows: What Do You Do? [Block Talk Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240710/034057/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-1152348296___10154008404.jpg)
What gives the person with a chemically toxic lawn more rights than the person trying to “rewild” their properties, one reader wondered.
![Get Off My Lawn, Boomer; Tidy, Close-Cut Lawns So 1950s [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240705/055036/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2444841455___05173527420.jpg)
Not everyone in the neighborhood shares the same passion for landscaping, but what do you do about the eyesore next door?
![Neighbor’s Yard Is Weedy, Stinky Mess. What To Do? [Block Talk Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240627/051538/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-419581768___27171429333.jpg)
Some readers threw shade on the “shopping cart theory,” which says people who don’t return them are of questionable moral character.
![If You Don’t Return A Shopping Cart Are You A Total Jerk? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240621/040441/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-532210126___21160210812.jpg)
The “shopping cart theory” holds that a person’s moral character is revealed based on whether they abandon or return carts.
![Is It OK To Leave Shopping Carts In Parking Lot? [Block Talk Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240613/021111/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-622783631___13140845154.jpg)
Loud music, especially loud bass, topped readers’ complaints about noisy neighbors. Dogs, fireworks and exhaust fans got mentions, too.
![How To Handle Neighbors Who Pollute Summer With Noise? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240607/042424/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2095942300___07162155437.jpg)
Aside from the normal sounds of summer, how much noise should you reasonably expect from people living next door, upstairs or downstairs?
![Sounds Of Summer: What To Do About Noisy Neighbors [Block Talk Survey]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240530/025451/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-2315127481___30145234057.jpg)
If a neighbor’s security camera is pointed at your back yard, no matter how tempting to do otherwise, keep your clothes on, readers say.
![Naughty Or Nice When Neighbor’s Security Camera Is On? [Block Talk]](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/shutterstock/790386/20240524/105131/styles/patch_image/public/shutterstock-572014516___24105033049.jpg)