Is reciprocal linking useless?

Reciprocal links useless ?

Well i was reading a post on the http://www.searchenginejournal.com where the blogger (Ann Smarty) had wonderfully conmmented about : reciprocal linking and interlinking

According to him the reciprocal link exchange is a way to network and connect the websites and its users more in a socially way.The thinking is right but what about the google's policies and the thing which google and all call as page rank as we all know that page rank uses the hyperlink system for providing the page ranks to various pages.How will it distinguish between the socially accepted links and link farms.

He had also pointed out the unantural links features like:

excessive reciprocal linking;
simultaneous reciprocal linking (both links appear on the same day);
only reciprocal linking (no other backlinks except those);
brand new sites reciprocal linking;
absolutely irrelevant reciprocal linking.