Is there a bug in field_data() and max_length for string types?

[eluser]Tobz[/eluser]
it seems to me that the max_length item is the length of the longest record in the database, not the actual set maximum for the field. I'm not sure if this is a bug or not, but it seems like it to me.
still as of 1.7.1

anyone else have anything to say on this? is it a bug?