Leaving lock on the parking rack - is this rude? We have a bicycle parking rack near the office building. It's rather large: for about 30-35 bikes.

Someone has left their lock (chain or whatever) locked around one part of the rack.

So, I've got two questions:


is this rude, or it's just me thinking this way? 
can I park my bike on such a place if there are no other options?
Whether it's rude is a matter of local custom. Whether you're offended by it depends on your flexibility and sensitivity

Often, we cyclists can become a little over sensitive, after having to defend ourselves from car doors, pedestrians, cars, trucks, laws that don't take us into account, police who have a ticket quota, and even other cyclists.

Relax.

The person who left it there is just trying to save themselves the trouble of carrying it every day.

And yes, you can still park your bike there. Of course they may think you're rude then, so I'd only park there if it was the last position available.