I shoot a recurve and have always maintained an ever so slight arm bend to keep me pushing toward the target and the string from slapping me.  I have been shooting with some guys who insist that the bow arm should be straight.  Am I missing something?

No, the arm doesn't HAVE to be straight, nor does it HAVE to be bent.  You can tell 'those who insist' that Howard Hill shot with a bent arm.

It's much easier for me to keep proper back tension before release with a very slight bend in my elbow.  Do what works for you, not what someone else tells you is right.  Just my .02 cents.

Grip it and rip it.  I hate when people try to critique form on somebody that is shooting consistently well.  I have had people do it to me and all it does is screw with my head.  I play around with other things ,but when the cards are down I do the same thing every time. Unless its a recurve and then I shoot with with a straight arm   :p

I just spent the week shooting like junk because I just had to try it.  It's hard to ignore advice from someone that shoots so well.  Today I reset my brain and am back on target.  Almost ruined me.  Same reason why I stopped readying how to shoot books.  Just make me think too much.  If I wanted to think when I was shooting I would be a gap shooter.  Can't concentrate on that many things. All that to say that sometime you just gotta do it your way, even if it's wrong.