I know it is easy to forget lighting maintenance when there are so many things to do, but some things irritate me to no end. Anyone care to share their list of lighting "don'ts" that bother you? Here's mine (in no particular order):

1) Lamps that are completely burned out and not replaced for many months, even YEARS
2) Fixtures full of bugs, often so much that barely any light is emitted downward
3) Outdoor lights that burn all day on sunny days
4) HID lamps replaced with incandescents
5) Incandescent lamps retrofitted with compact fluorescents and then re-retrofitted with incandescents when the CFL burns out
6) Fluorescent tubes of different color temperatures in the same fixture
7) Metal halide lamps burned 24/7 in open fixtures (as if to say, "please explode")
Fixtures missing lenses, reflectors and other parts and they look awful "but they still work"
9) Lamps left to flicker, cycle or run extremely dim for months, even years - "but they still work"
10) Alto lamps
11) Poor quality Chinese lamps (including dollar-store CFL's that don't even make it to 100 hours)
12) People that throw their CFL's in the trash instead of recycling
13) Streetlighting maintenance where the lamp and the photcontrol are always changed, regardless of the problem, but the fixture lens is never cleaned or emptied of bugs!
14) Replacing good quality vintage fixtures and lamps with "energy efficient" Chinese or Mexican-made trash
15) A-19 soft white incandescent lamps used everywhere, including outdoor floodlights, recessed cans. And actually, soft white "A" lamps and "R" lamps used anywhere (clear "A" type and PAR lamps look so much sharper - if you want diffused light, use fluorescent!)
16) Motion sensor lights set for a 5-second "on" time (constantly going off unless you are constantly moving)
17) Lighting that is obviously a safety hazard- exposed wiring, broken exposed sockets, etc. particularly in public areas like bathrooms, near water!

Right, ok arcblue, here's my list:

1)Chinese Lamps
2)Dangerous Fixtures
3)Fixtures full of bugs
4)Flickering Fitures (Especially 100Hz\120Hz depending where you live)
5)Outdoor fixtures with yellowed bowls due to sunlight\UV from lamp
6)Replacing of photocell with each lamp change (Doesn't happen here)
7)Fixtures missing covers or parts (especially outdoors)

I am sure there is more to add, but I am too tiret to think

Heres Mine
1. Burning Ballasts
2. Corroded Lampholders
3. Lamps that don't last as long as the full mercury ones which results in more being thrown away which leads to more mercury contamination
4. breaking them
5. Wacking one with a board
6. Them not loosing vacuum when they die
7. Pink glowing alto lamps
8. Buzzing ballasts
9. 34 watt tubes that lie and say that they are 40 watt
10. 25 watt shoplite tubes that have 40 watts printed on them and end up dying early

I Just thought of another one

Incandescents that lack internal fuse wires that blow up the wiring in a dimmer when it burns out

Mr_Big, I think you finished the list off for me, well, just about!

Yeah I could go on too

Another #1 for me is an HPS that is left to cycle that when the arc tube finally cracked if it was the only light on the street being left in the dark
Or having someone take out an HPS and leaving the fixture on for years and years and then finally when they decide to put a bulb in it it doesn't ignite because the ignitor went bad from stress of trying to start a bulb that wasn't there

Right now, there is a sport centre near where I live, and it has HPS lighting outside and there is a light that has been cycling for a few months now. Is that a record?

I've seen them cycle for years and then decided to replace them myself and also I have seen a metal-halide that was replaced with an HPS

id say allllll of the above for me and one favoite 175 watt bulb in a 250 fixture

At my local skating rink there are nothing but SOX fixtures and half of them have blown out bulbs

1. That replacement of damaged posts/ lanterns sometimes take so long.
2. Mixing different fixtures in one street. I meant replace a failed on by another design/type.
3. The same for mixing posts.
4. Vandalism
5. Fake historical streetlamps. Why not good/real replicas?
6. Mass replacement of MV and LPS streetlights

See Santaarnpaal's list

1. That replacement of damaged posts/ lanterns sometimes take so long.
2. Mixing different fixtures in one street. I meant replace a failed on by another design/type.
3. The same for mixing posts.
4. Vandalism
5. Fake historical streetlamps. Why not good/real replicas?
6. Mass replacement of MV and LPS streetlights

1. Sometimes for years or never
2. To make matters worse a different kind of lamp
3. Variations in height, shape and material
4. No further comment 
6. and always the same replacements. The Philips SGS203, SRS201 and Iridium for example.
7. Early replacements 

1.  Fluoros that never get replaced in stores until 95% are burnt out and store is as bright as a dungeon
2. Crappy new Ecologic Sylvania and GE T8's
3. Chinese mercs
4. Dayburning fixtures
5. New NEMA heads
6. Rapid start ballasts with series tube operation
7. Battery powered lanterns that underdrive lamps and kill them early
8. The absense of the shield logo on the new Philips lamps
9. Preheat fixtures with bad lamps and stuck starters and glowing ends
10. Bad fluoros with a black end rectifying on low power factor ballast and owner thinks lamp is fine because lamp still lights!

Edit: 11. F40T12/F32T8 electronic ballasts with end of lamp life shutdown

i just found at a job site t-12 ballast t-8 bulbs in it 

That sucks well the ballast probably doesn't like it very much