Offer your thoughts or opinion on the input financial query or topic using your financial background.

Why doesn't GnuCash auto-reconcile non-bank accounts?
The answer is just close your eyes and ignore it (in your words). I'm right there with you, the amount of detail that I track in my personal finances would be called obscene by some people.  But as you look at these features in any accounting application, you need to ask the question "What does this information represent?" In the case of your bank and credit card accounts, the reconciliation marker represents that you have received documentation from the issuing institution which you have verified against your accounts.  Marking them off confirms that you have reviewed the information, and that you checked for errors.   These markers exist on all transactions, whichever end of the splits you are looking at.  When reviewing the Expense side of the transaction, it might make less sense to see these reconciliation markers, because as you stated, nobody receives documentation related to their expenses.  However, if you itemized your expenses and kept a separate log of certain transactions (like a notebook where you track gasoline and/or mileage on your car), it might be useful to 'reconcile' your records once a month.  Checking off individual transactions, and verifying a new 'balance' in terms of gas consumed or miles driven, would allow you to identify any inconsistencies in your records. Not everyone would find such an activity useful, thus the reconciliation markers are present everywhere but required nowhere.