>I consider the use of "::" as the equivalent of a GOTO command - a sign of a questionable design. Are there any circumstances where it legitimately needs to be used?

Al,

Well VFP 3.0 for one, because there was no DoDefault() function. In VFP 5.0 the DoDefault had problems that caused many folks to use the scope resolution operator instead.

The only time I have any problem with the use of the :: operator is when a level of subclass is being bypassed, that is an indication of a problem with the class heirarchy.