Yeah, I see exactly what you're saying about the discrepancy, but I can't explain why.
Basically, we're provided the exact table structure for our spatial tables; specific to the decision makers decisions on how the tables should be structured. We have no say in how what fields these tables will include. They are designed to be specific for different feature classes though (i.e., buildings, natural resource surveys, power lines, etc. all have a custom fields but also have certain fields in common). The ancillary tables that store the majority of attribute data is totally up to us how it is structured. It's supposed to allow a certain amount of standardization (the spatial tables with a few "important" fields) in data storage, but also allow a large amount of customizability (is that a word?) (the ancillary tables with anything we decide is important. And yes, it seems to be Arc specific.
I obviously gave the "short-and-sweet", but that's the gist of it.
Thanks again, I do appreciate your help.
Wes