“but this has been abused too and then it becomes unatural.”
Which is my point. Don’t focus on the reciprocal part. Focus on the unnatural. Reciprocal links are like bricks. Bricks are not a bad thing. Throwing a brick through a window is a bad thing.
Too often people tend to just mush ideas together, and this is a bad thing to do. Using tools for bad purposes is not the tools fault, and it is a serious mistake to think “that bad brick”.
“Make it look natural.”
I don’t agree. Make it natural. Don’t try and put a dress on a pig. Fix the problems instead of trying to hide them.
“BTW – do you think that PR in itself has any real value?”
Sure, very definitely, and will more so in the future when all three engines get on their feet.