While there is no definition of compulsive hoarding in accepted diagnostic criteria... Frost and Hartl (1996) provide the following defining features:the acquisition of, and failure to discard, a large number of possessions that appear to be useless or of limited value. [Ed's note: see everything on the internet ever] living spaces sufficiently cluttered so as to preclude activities for which those spaces were designed. [Ed's note: see every web page ever] significant distress or impairment in functioning caused by the hoarding. [Ed's note: see flame wars] Reluctance or inability to return borrowed items. As boundaries blur, impulsive acquisitiveness could sometimes lead to kleptomania or stealing. [Ed's note: see all discussions relating to "copyfighting", pace Cory Doctorow]
The hoarder may mistakenly believe that the hoarded items are very valuable, or the hoarder may know that they are useless. A hoarder of the first kind may show off a cutlery set claiming it to be made of silver and mother-of-pearl, disregarding the fact that the packaging clearly states the cutlery is made of steel and plastic. A hoarder of the second type may have a fridge filled with food items that expired months ago without ever eating them, but would vehemently resist any attempts from relatives to dispose of the unusable food items.
