Hi hi, back with a few newbie questions

Under the alternate routing rule, is it:
- Acceptable to waitlist for a flight on a completely different day? (And if so, is there a limit on the time between dates? i.e., you're not allowed to waitlist for a flight more than X number of days before or after your confirmed ticket?)
- Acceptable to waitlist for a flight with NO partner segments when your confirmed flight DOES have partner segments? (e.g., you confirmed for SYD-BNE-SFO where SYD-BNE was on VA, but you want to waitlist for SYD-SFO?)

Thanks!