New user, glad to meet you! I was thinking about this earlier today when my neighbor borrowed my ladder and left it in their yard for three days which is honestly one of those things that just sticks with you because there's nothing more frustrating

Opening thread commentary.

Welcome! That ladder situation is legitimately one of those small things that feels massive because it's about trust and boundaries more than a piece of equipment, which is interesting to think about since we don't often frame borrowing as a moral contract but the moment someone breaks it you feel the violation immediately. My neighbor actually did something similar with my lawnmower back in 2017—kept it for three weeks claiming they were going to mow their field and then just stopped replying to texts, which is worse than never returning it because the silence implies deliberation rather than accident — I had to go over there and literally pick it up from their porch while they were inside. It makes you wonder how often we lend things expecting reciprocity that doesn't materialize and whether we should start charging a "borrowing fee" just to account for the mental energy of tracking down our own property, which sounds ridiculous but also probably makes sense if you add up every unreturned item over your lifetime.