title: When Is It Appropriate to Use Html.RenderAction()?
body: <p>I'm a little bit unsure about when it's appropriate to use <code>Html.RenderAction()</code> to render my Views and when not to. My understanding is that because it's not an 'official' component of ASP.NET MVC it's bad practice to use it, and its original intention was for reusable widgets that don't exist in any specific Controller context.</p>
  
  <p>The thing is, RenderAction is very useful when I need a component that exists under a different Controller than the one that I'm currently rendering the View for. I think it's a very tidy &amp; self contained way to render components that rely on data unavailable in the current View. My View doesn't need to supply the Model, as it would if I was using <code>RenderPartial()</code></p>
  
  <p>Is this bad practice? Is there a better way?</p>