tedster - 8:36 pm on Feb 27, 2010 (gmt 0)

What Google says as a "bad" link scheme is EXCESSIVE link exchanges, not any link exchanges at all:

Link Schemes . . . Excessive reciprocal links or excessive link exchanging ("Link to me and I'll link to you.") [google.com...]

Google may build up FUD for webmasters, but we webmasters have built up a decent pile of FUD and mythology on our own. We do it when we don't pay close attention to the details of what Google actually does say - and worse than that, when we allow some idea that an SEO shared eight years ago grow to superhuman status.

I agree with an earlier sentiment in this thread, You don't learn SEO just by reading, you also learn it by doing. And of the two, doing is the critical piece. Reading and discussing are just helpful. It takes doing to sort out truth from FUD - anyone's FUD!