I'm picking up a bag salad on my way to the airport on Monday and will place it in the OH bin just to see what happens.

It will get violently tossed, apparently.

I usually travel with a small backpack and a small duffel. Each fits in the small size of the sizer bins. Despite the "put one bag under your seat" announcements, I put them both in the overhead, backpack at the back (fits the curve of the plane better) and duffel in front. Combined, they are about the size of one of the rollaboards people haul onto planes.

I don't feel obliged to put a bag at my feet. I'm not taking up more space than the rollaboards. If someone with a rollaboard has to check it, not my problem - and putting one of those bags at my feet wouldn't help. If someone shows up with need to put a small or fragile item overhead, then I'll take out a bag and put it at my feet.

I'm 6 feet tell, and seat pitch has become horrible. I don't see why I should suffer so someone can put an item up there that probably should be checked, but isn't for various reasons. Of course if I am in F or an exit row, it doesn't matter, there is plenty of room in front of me.

I know this is getting OT but I don't like being lectured about making myself uncomfortable so someone can put a big bag up there.

Hey, I saw someone put a small paper bag up in the bin and then a later passenger puts their carry-on up there and of course smashes what turns out to be the first guy's lunch. The first guy then proceeded to curse-out the 2nd guy for smashing his lunch. Of course, on this aircraft, unless you were well over 6ft tall it would be very difficult to see that little brown bag of lunch at the back of the bin. No sympathy for the 1st guy (strike 1-expecting to preserve a whole bin "slot" for a tiny bag, strike 2 - putting an exceedingly squishable lunch up there, strike 3 - cursing the other guy out for strike 1 and 2).

Remember when travelers used to carry on hanging garment bags, and then fold them out lengthwise in the overhead bins? *

The biggest complaint would be that someone would then lay something on top.

* back when we used to wear suits or sportcoats.

+1

^^

Every time I fly I see so many people putting multiple large bags up in the overhead bins when they are not sitting in bulkheads. Its so selfish. Nobody wants to have to check their bag because there is no more room in the bins. I always travel with 2 items and I always put one under the seat in front of me. After takeoff, I can stretch my legs out by pulling the bag out from under the seat. Its not so hard to be a little courteous to our fellow travelers because we are all just 1 delay/run through the airport away from being that person.

OP, I would have retrieved the bag and required the FA/crew to acknowledge the breakage while on board and sent the bill to DL.

So many .......s here. This place is overflowing with them these days.

It doesn't matter if OP had 10 bags. Nobody should be mistreating baggage.

Baggage lives matter!

+1... if I bring a backpack and another small item on board, such that they combine to less than the size of a roll aboard, I have no qualms about putting them both in the overhead bin.

They don't deserve it; I am just not overflowing with sympathy for them.

On my flight from MCO to CVG today, I asked FA if I could grab some pretzels off the top of her cart that was near as she worked her way back - they were for my six year who was sitting next to me reading. She told me to wait one moment. When she came back to us she asked my son what he would like, and he asked for pretzels and water. And she responded, "patience is a virtue so if you wait for me to return in a bit, I'll give you two bags". The plastic bag fill of pretzels was sitting on the cart in front of my eyeballs. I could smell them. I'm sure there are parents who require assistance and a bit of parenting instruction , I am not one of them.

The longer I fly Delta the more convinced I am that the airline is faltering under the weight of its legacy help and a few spoiled apples and their dated and snarky attitudes. There are some gems for sure but the sour apples seem to be multiplying at an accelerating pace.