This debate always goes on for ever.
There are 3 issues that determine whether you need a long, short or medium mech. They are:
1. The amount of chain it needs to tension to cope with the difference between the small/small and big/big sprocket. The length of the jockey cage determines this.
2. The top jockey wheel needs to stay at the right distance from the sprockets as it moves across the cassette. This is determined by the hanger and mech geometry and the amount of B tension adjustment you've got.
3. What your own standards are for acceptable.
Three is where things vary the most. Some people will want to stick to the manufacturers spec. These are normally conservative 'cos they allow for the unfavourable combinations of geometry that might occur.
Other people are content to relax 1. 'cos they know that they're never going to use the big/big or small/small combinations. So either they'll allow no chain tension when on the small ring and in small sprockets - noisy and inefficient. Or they won't have enough chain to cope with the big/big combination and risk breaking the transmission if they ever tried to use it. Or they may be lucky and the set up may just work if it's not too far out of spec.
For 2. it's even more subjective. I had a bike with a 9 speed campag transmission with a short mech. In theory this meant I could run 53/39 with up to 26 at the back. When I put a 13-28 cassette on it would just handle the chain wrap but on 39/28 I couldn't adjust the B tension enough to stop the jockey wheel running the chain right against the sprocket - slightly noisy and slight increase in wear. If the rear mech hanger was a mm lower it might've been clear. A lot of people might've been happy to put up with this. I could've taken a link out of the chain and the increased tension would've solved the problem at the cost of making the 53/28 combination break the mech or chain if I tried to use it. For me, at the time, the extra 2 teeth weren't worth it.
The situation is different too if you building a bike for someone else. When it's your own bike you know the compromises and the benefits/downsides - not true if it's someone else.
Putting a 12-27 cassette on a campag short mech set up is only just out of spec and my guess is that that you'd get away with it. I've just got a Miche 12-27 10 speed cassette to put on my Centaur set up - I'm expecting that it'll be perfect, but I might be wrong.