  Several studies have shown the distribution of pulsars' magnetic inclination
angles to be skewed towards low values compared with the distribution expected
if the rotation and magnetic axes are placed randomly on the star. Here we
focus on a sample of 28 $\gamma$-ray-detected pulsars using data taken as part
of the Parkes telescope's \emph{FERMI} timing program. In doing so we find a
preference in the sample for low magnetic inclination angles, $\alpha$, in
stark contrast to both the expectation that the magnetic and rotation axes are
orientated randomly at the birth of the pulsar and to
$\gamma$-ray-emission-model-based expected biases. In this paper, after
exploring potential explanations, we conclude that there are two possible
causes of this preference, namely that low $\alpha$ values are intrinsic to the
sample, or that the emission regions extend outside what is traditionally
thought to be the open-field-line region in a way which is dependent on the
magnetic inclination. Each possibility is expected to have important
consequences, ranging from supernova physics to population studies of pulsars
and considerations of the radio beaming fraction. We also present a simple
conversion scheme between the observed and intrinsic magnetic inclinations
which is valid under the assumption that the observed skew is not intrinsic and
which can be applied to all existing measurements. We argue that extending the
active field-line region will help to resolve the existing tension between
emission geometries derived from radio polarisation measurements and those
required to model $\gamma$-ray light curves.
