Ah yes, here's a source:
http://www.terrificpets.com/dog_breeds/ ... pherds.asp
To be honest though, I have only heard of this online so I'll take a look in my Aussie book to see if I find anything in there about this.
Anyways, I love to hear different opinions^^
About the AKC, they do have to have tails that do not exceed 4 inches:
http://www.akc.org/breeds/australian_shepherd/
Now as I said before, I'm not for docking tails unless it's necessary. I could not find a single Aussie that did not have a bobtail; if I did find one, then I would have immediately adopted him, but that usually isn't the case for them. Australian Shepherds are almost always are docked after birth if they are purebreds.
But again, I'm not for docking for the sake of it; it's just how the breed is.^^