Property or not?

Coming from playing the Ultima series I´m aware that an Avatar ought to act virtuos regarding the property of NPC´s.

Stuff in containers is a bit problematic as most times I can simply "Take all" despite it does not belong to me but taking is o.k., sometimes it´s "Steal all" which I do not do unless my finger presses E twice too fast.

Stuff marked red is private so I stay away from it.

The markings are sometimes strange - I can take the content of barrels and sacks in the refugee camp of Solstace Bridge Outskirts right under the nose of the guards - but the stuff in the barn in the middle of the abandoned village is marked in red as private property to not be taken...

Is there anything to be aware of regarding animals? At start I assumed that wild animals are fair game, even in a city (e.g. rabbits) but domesticated are certainly owned by someone.
However none of them are marked in any way so currently I´m using sheeps and chicken as target practice.

Does it matter if domesticated animals are running around freely or are in a fixed place like being surrounded by a wooden fence as in the elven slums in Westend?

Not that I end up being declared a poacher or thief by the Oracle at some point...

 

Well, there are a lot of containers you can open and take stuff from - not Avatar like - without any consequences ...

Example: Docks of Celestis. (I wrote a bug report about months before).
Crates in a lot of rooms can be destroyed just "for fun".
Some players may think, it is okay to destroy and/or loot others property.

But as ConjurerDragon writes above:
it is confusing, why I can destroy and take items infront of others and nothing happens, while I am catched by guards, when clicking accidently an item where no person is around ...

Those actions (also vandalism and if you kill peaceful animals...) should have a meaning and consequences for the game and our Avatar ...

What would we think of people coming into our land and showing this kind of behavior?
Or imagine other players could enter our lots/houses and steal from our property ...

Isn't it a game about virtues and to be virtuous? Yes, property (not only our own property!) should have a meaning.