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I'd like to know if fluff means anything or does ones own inventing flavor trumps it.

Zombie IG is an example. There are no rules for zombie's in the game but someone could put down an army of undead with lasguns and use the IG codex.

Do you think this is acceptable or not? Give reason for or against please. I'd really like to know what people feel.

I voted for both. There's fun to be found with either.

The previous SM army I used to play I used to love making up the HQ unit back story.

With some of my lists now I actually try to lean it more towards fluff. For example with my IG I was thinking of running Steel Legion and limiting their weaponry choice to what Steel Legion would usually field. So my lists would lack Vet squads with triple melta.

You buy the models so do what you want with them as long as they are not overly confusing to your opponent.

Background can be made up all you want.

Perhaps you fancy a Space Marine army comprised of elements from the Traitor Legions who never turned, and now seek absolution from their Legions heinous crimes against the Emperor? Or your Eldar force is comprised largely of Exodites, Pirates and Outcasts all under the leadership of a banished Farseer, mixing the models from the ages and ranges of The Eldar?

Makes no difference to me. Only place I really draw the line is when you construct a theme in order to justify a powergaming mix and match of units from different Army Books (to use my second example above, I would take issue at a Farseer with an Incubi Bodyguard).

So yeah, as long as it is purely thematic, go for it!

I see no reason not to invent your own fluff/storyline for an army. Just don't try to combine codexes to make it work the way you want. We had a guy show up for a tourney with his 'custom' marine list. He had combined the Blood Angel list with the Space Wolf list, pulling units/rules/special abilities from each. Halfway through the first round, his opponent called over an organizer, and Mr. Blood Wolf/Space Angel was promptly informed that his list needed to be CODEX specific. Needless to say, even though he had done some really nice conversions & painted them nicely also, his army didn't work in the 40K gaming world.

Dude im the creator of the Zorks (©), its all about the flavour