I haven't met many vegans IRL (save for the VVers I've met in person who are awesome
); I've mostly met vegetarians. That said, I appreciate
any effort someone makes toward living an animal-cruelty-free life, and while I agree that people IRL might have very different interpretations of what is "possible and practicable," eating cheese, for example, isn't vegan, IMHO, and I would say as much if someone IRL claimed to be vegan but still was eating cheese or eggs or yogurt or some other food they simply can't give up. I suppose people's standards are different? While I might not give somebody a pass for eating cheese, I might not say anything if they're still wearing leather shoes, because maybe they are transitioning or something, or they feel like they can't replace them yet because they aren't in a financial position to do so.
Still, sometimes I think people want to tailor or appropriate a definition of veganism to make it fit into their lives and thus not feel guilty if they aren't "perfect," but regardless of the "degrees" of what is possible and practicable, I agree with Danielle, that if you're intentionally consuming any animal products (or any byproducts, for that matter) that you could really do without, it's not vegan. I understand that it's almost impossible to really live without impacting the lives of animals, but if you're truly giving it the old college try, cheese is not really an option.
I hope that makes some sense and that I don't sound like some judgmental, self-righteous vegan, lol. I've had a couple of glasses of (vegan) wine, and I might be a little less than organized than usual in my thought patterns.