CainIV - 11:23 pm on Oct 26, 2010 (gmt 0)

Reciprocal links from high quality, related websites are valued just as much as any other link as long as the link profile is diverse - meaning different types of links from different types of websites.

The net effect of the link is directly proportional to the quality of the referring page, in combination with the diversity of the backlink profile you already have, in my opinion.

If you have hundreds - or more - of "obviously" reciprocal links, they might all be discounted.