Is "Cheating" on Segment Length Bad?

[Waffles Mgee]

Personally I never do it. The way I figure it, all I gotta focus on is the shoulder/hip and the hand/foot, the elbow/knee just falls into place automatically if you do your placement right, and it can look good. But at times it does get a little iffy, like when your limbs are almost straight, so I can imagine "cheating" then, but I never do. Just personal preference, really.