I call dibs!

If you've ever driven through Chicago neighborhoods after a snow, you'd immediately notice the multitude of old chairs and other household items lining the streets. This is "Dibs." The Dibs system is simple. After a large snowfall, people who put the work in to shovel out a parking spot mark it with an item to claim it as their own. This way, you won't have to spend time shoveling out a spot just to have it taken by someone who didn't do any work.

However, every system has it's flaws. Dibs has flaws because some people are jerks. You might come home to find that your chair had been moved and a car sitting in it's place. What would you do?
John Kass of the Chicago Tribune says that "Any Chicagoan knows what happens when dibs is disrespected. The offender's car usually gets bleeped up."

This is why "Dibs" is controversial. Dibs isn't a new thing, either. My mom remembers placing chairs in her spots when she was in college. (And she's old!)

There is also the fact that it's possible you might find an empty spot and park in it, not knowing that someone had come before you and moved the chair. Then you come back and find your car with it's tires slashed.

John Kass ends his article with "Don't disrespect the dibs. So let it be written. So let it be done."

But is there a better system? If you have lived in Chicago, what are your experiences with the system?