Very nice turn of phrase Skylady. As a newbie to this board, it's gratifying to see that some members have a sense of humour. I think you'd be fun to spend a few hours as a seat companion.....!

Thanks everyone for the responses. I was pretty sure what the answer would be but I am pleased to note the active participation from members. I will visit more often as there is much worthwhile input here. Oh, and BTW, I've never had a problem with the overhead issue since I adopted my new strategy - simply fake a good limp and pre board....! Happy landings.

There are an annoying number of aircraft where, despite having a carry on that is entirely legal sized, doesn't fit the 'logical' way around in the overhead bin (and yet will on your connecting flight with the same airline!) They really should give a maximum size for the aircraft type, smaller on those planes with limited sized overheads.

Unless you know that row 30 on that aircraft is reserved for crew bags / emergency kit / baby life rafts / blankets etc. There is one aircraft I fly on from time to time, that has one of the overheads over the bulkhead filled with emergency equipment, meaning that, given there is no floor storage on the bulkhead, the bulkhead passengers have to put their bags a row or two back. I think it is a silly design, but as I like the bulkhead, I try to ensure I board as soon as permitted to pop my stuff in an overhead close to me - but if not, the FAs have never had any issue with me popping my bag in the last bin of FC.

"Your" space is the space under your seat. Overhead is public space. First come, first serve.

Exactly.Common sense and courtesy seem to have been a victim in the race for overhead space.
^ I agree.
First come first serve does not mean that you can deposit your bags anywhere on the aircraft even before checking to see if there is overhead space above or near your seat. I find this behaviour to be what, in my younger days, was associated with ignorant people in societies considered less civilised.
There would be fewer problems, and delays if people behaved rationally
Place your belongings in over-head bins above, or at least near your seat.
Place your roll-aboard and other stuff to maximise space use, not based on your convenience.
Don't bring excess baggage on board. This includes frequent flyers, not just those who are referred to with the K word.
If you have too many items, place some under the seat in front of you, not your neighbour's.

Treat overhead space as if it were your spouse/date. Use your own, not your neighbour's.

Your CPAP is an assistance device as defined by the Air Carrier Access Act. The ACAA gives you the right to have that in the airplane with you regardless of when you board or how full the bins might be. The airline must make room for your assistance device in the cabin.

My position is that no passenger should move another passenger's bag. You are responsible for enforcing neither the airline's policy nor rules of courtesy. It's perfectly fine to move something a few inches across the bin or turn around if it fits, but if you want to move something to another bin, call the FA to do it.

Remember that if the owner of the bag sees you handling it, and something later goes missing from the bag, you could very well be blamed for theft.

Once someone's rollaboard handle wouldn't retract so he stored it sideways, and got chewed out by the FA for it.

What they should do is make people use their underseat space and no oversize carryons. Then we wouldn't have this issue.

Yeah--I generally fly with both a big laptop and a DSLR. They're packed for carry-on, not for being checked.

Sounds like one of the Air NZ A320 configured for international flights where the ETOPS life raft is stored above row 3 on the left hand side of the plane, which means a slight lack of bin space around that area.

Exactly. Most of the first couple of dozen posts here called it "public" or "first come, first served", but that suggests there's nothing wrong with putting multiple bags up, or using space in the front when sitting in the back. Whether or not this violates airline rules, it certainly violates courtesy.

I wouldn't ever remove someone else's bag, but I would re-orient a poorly stowed bag (e.g. to wheels first) if that meant I'd have room for my own, making sure they both fit and the door still closes.

While I advocate using space near your seat, so others don't have to stow bags way aft of their seat, specific spots are unassigned.

On most narrow-body planes, there is not enough space for even one rollerboard per person. Typically, there are 2 bins (6 wheels-first bags) for 3 rows of 3 seats (9 pax).

So what about the FA who, without a word, moved my purse from the bin over my bulkhead seat to the bin across the aisle and forward (to fit a wheelie in the space)? I protested, which got me nowhere with him. Folks around me thought he was out of line...

I wouldn't move someone's bag myself either. But people should not use first come first served to hog space. The principle of first come first served does not override courtesy. commonsense and rules of decency, as well as carry-on baggage rules.

FAs can do that in order to ensure more efficient use of overhead space.
FAs responses are very inconsistent. SOme FAs, when approached for assistance in turning/moving around some baggage to accommodate yours think of it as an imposition and would rather have the passenger(s) do it themselves, while some would insist that passengers don't touch another person's baggage. I have come across both kind.
Another issue is what if your only carry on luggage were your purse plus another smaller item, and you were not seated in a bulkhead seat when there was a shortage of overhead space. Are you expected to move your purse to the under-seat space to accommodate some one else's excess cabin baggage?

One would imagine that you could keep a much better eye on it if it was across and fwd, vs. straight above you. That might strain the neck a bit.