A general answer; pinning and keying of cables in general is a mess - unless you have a "well described standard" for a single use cable/connector.

Plugged and notched positions is in most cases meant to be a help, to use the cable in the correct position(s), often also for a specific device.

As pinning many times differ vastly, a general (not plugged nor keyed) cable opens up for mishaps (especially if power feed is available on any pins).

*Mishaps: that is when you break something and wish to send it back for either free replacement or warranty repair.*  
*Which is costly for the claim recipient, and time consuming for you...*