Never belonged to one, but have heard the horror stories. I can personally attest to the opposite end of the spectrum though. Most people on my street do a decent job of keeping up their yards. One neighbour however has three barbeques. One of them has been on the front yard for the last year, but only because the ATVs were moved out of the way. Hockey net is usually in the street in front of my house, where people want to park. I used to shovel the sidewalk for them, until it was made clear they weren't interested in having shoveled sidewalks; they (well, she, because he got carted off to jail) haven't done much to clear up the other clutter; tattered remains of a yard umbrella that got ripped apart by a windstorm; broken toys, old pottery, newspapers. My first project after the thaw will be a fence in the front yard so I don't have to look at it.
Community standards aren't so bad, in other words. The intent is to prevent what I put up with; having to see a junkyard every time I walk out of the house. It's not that I am offended by the sight of a few toys - it would be different if this was stuff the kids were playing with. This is all discarded junk laying around. There are bylaws, but not only am I not sure it meets the standard of the law, frankly, I don't want to be a snitch who reports his neighbour every second day. I suppose they have the right to "enjoy" their house as well, which is where the conflict comes in, and why community standards are codified - to ensure a fair compromise for my right to enjoy my house and a 'tidy community', and they to theirs.
It's a big difference between living in a junkpile and flying the flag proudly, but I guess some people (I am not one of them) don't see that difference.
Pretty sure he didn't pluck it out of the Cracker Jack box. 
