Forsythe on 3/4/2003 at 08:23

---

Hrm... lemme summarize all of the above, with a few tidbits tossed in for flavor:
1) Chests, boxes, bags, etc:
a) If they weren't originally empty when you 1st found them, they're likely to "respawn" after a couple or three months' game time.
b) If they were empty when you 1st found them, then the popular wisdom is that they won't "respawn" and toast anything you put in them.

2) Corpses:
a) Corpses that are the result of something dying will eventually disappear, taking their contents with them.
b) Corpses that are there before you kill anything, cause anything to be killed, etc. will usually stick around forever. (No idea if they respawn their contents, but I doubt it ;))

3) Leaving stuff out:
a) If the the total number of out-in-the-open, pick-upable objects in any "room" (or 'zone', if outdoors), then an "overflow bag" will be created and all out-in-the-open, pick-upable items in that room will be placed in it. This includes things like spoons, candleholders, etc. Reportedly, any further objects dropped will end up in said bag once you leave the 'room'.
b) Otherwise, and barring any sort of script- or teleportation-based jiggery-pokery, items you leave out will generally stay there forever.

Forsythe on 3/4/2003 at 08:50

---

Hrm... thought I'd addressed that w/ 2b (I was trying to keep it in layman's terms), but I suppose further elaboration can't hurt ;) Btw, if that's the case then the corpse can't be removed even if you want it to. (Hence some early posts whingeing about Balmora's Hlaalo Manor as having a permanent Dunmer-skin rug :D)

Edit: Oh, something I really did miss though... I should've mentioned that if/when normal corpses disappear, they take their contents with them.
Edit2: Hrm... just realised something else... I don't believe I've ever encountered a live NPC w the "Corpses Persist" flag on, but I suppose it's possible.