There’s something about homeowners’ associations that brings out the pettiness in people. What is it about the human condition that causes folks to revel in the opportunity to exert power over their neighbors through the influence of trivial rules? Whatever the answer, the condition is nowhere more evident in America — nor in Suffolk — than in the trifling impositions of these neighborhood organizations that all too often seem to exist solely to add to the daily burden of their members’ existence.

A case recently in the Belmont Park subdivision makes the point perfectly. Daniel Toner, a veteran of the war in Iraq, was shocked last month when the homeowners’ association for the community where he rents a home from his mother asked him to remove the U.S. flag from his front porch. The issue, according to the association, was not the flag, but the fact that it had been set in a small flag holder attached to a post on the porch.

The issue attracted the attention of the local news media, including this newspaper, and Toner refused to remove Old Glory from its perch on his porch. Eventually, the association relented, and it has finally responded with a new set of guidelines for the display of flags.

Toner and others in the community now have the express right to fly their flags (U.S. and otherwise) on their property, as long as they follow a set of six or so rules about doing so.

The rules govern the size and number of flags that are allowed, the placement of the flags and the types of poles that are permitted. An example of the regulations is that flagpoles must be no longer than 6 feet long and flags no larger than 3 feet by 5 feet, with wall mounts positioned on the front porch column away from next-door neighbors.

On the one hand, it makes sense that in a small community of townhomes like Belmont Park, there must be rules that help neighbors live in close proximity to one another without infringing on one another’s right to enjoy their homes. Gone are the days, after all, when neighbors were respectful of one another just because that was the right way to be.

On the other hand, a community that regulates things down to such niggling details as the mounting of flag holders on posts very well might not be satisfied with regulating just the placement of flags.

Fortunately nobody is forced to live in communities with restrictive homeowners’ associations. Suffolk is a big city with many different types of housing available to choose from. Before signing that contract, be sure to read all the fine print — and don’t neglect to familiarize yourself with the homeowners’ association’s bylaws and regulations. Doing so could save you a lot of grief down the road.