Should an object always use getters to access its own properties?

I just noticed that the seaside tutorial code always seems to do this - basically the code always says: self valueName. However, the Scriptaculous demos just do: valueName.

I have asked a question about this on the beginners list.

Update:

Randal Schwartz replied - almost immediately - and said

Clearly, position is an instance var, or perhaps a temporary. An instance var
may or may not have accessors, depending on whether it is meant to be tweaked
from the outside. #menuComponent, on the other hand, may be just an accessor,
or it may be a whole pile of code to generate that menu on the fly. At this
point, it doesn't matter.

Whether internal accesses to instance vars should use accessors instead of
direct access is a subject to debate (read: religious war). I hope you
haven't accidentally triggered that thread here. I tend to do the simplest thing that works, and leave it at that.

I totally agree with the simplicity principle. I can see why always accessing properties via getters would result in a consistent experience, i.e. the returned value would be the same whether the inquiring code was internal to the object or another object. However, it seems like more work.

There again, if you have gone to the trouble of establishing getters, perhaps one should use them everywhere. I will have to think about this.