Dharm, you read me correctly; my research of the literature and personal experience indicates to me that if a speaker is to be placed relatively close to room surfaces it doesn't matter if one of the three distances( floor and two nearest walls)is very short if the three distances differ significantly from each other. I discussed this in some past posts(search all the way back for "Allison" if you're interested)citing articles by Roy Allison and others available at some libraries but not online(and one online, although not the best).
I'm not certain of the context of Alan's phrase, but I'd agree that if the speakers didn't need room reinforcement in the bass because a sub was being used and if there was enough space, that placing them "well out from the wall" would be fine. My own experience with my M22s, for example, generally without a sub and relatively close to room surfaces(shortest distance about one foot)has resulted in good bass reinforcement without any boominess, loss of imaging etc.
