If we're talking about in a local community (household, workplace, neighborhood), my opinion is that complaining signals to people that you are expecting someon

If we're talking about in a local community (household, workplace, neighborhood), my opinion is that complaining signals to people that you are expecting someone else to solve it. It's a bad signal in a local community, because in a local community, everyone must be committed to solving most of the problems that occur, unless you have some kind of known reason for being unable to help (disabled, grieving, etc). Nobody likes complainers. Instead of complaining, state the problem, why you believe it is a problem, and what you're going to do about it unless people stop you with a better idea. This way, everyone knows what to expect your actions to be. They also have an opportunity to oppose your plan if they feel strongly enough to overcome inaction. And you're not complaining, because you've made it clear that you intend to solve it. Complaining can be an answer in a local community when the community is severely dysfunctional. For example, in the workplace, an overbearing manager who requires all decisions to go through them and doesn't allow any autonomy. In that case, complaining, leaving, or try to manipulate the manager are the dysfunctional alternatives.