No way to sugar coat it. Testing means they were considering it. There's not much they can do that wouldn't be attributed to the internet's reaction.

Yeah they're considering then,not really surprised they're not decided all these software things yet.

Btw that's why i said accidentally to make a test due to foolish tweet by Adam,not saying it's not a reaction to the uproar Adam caused,in fact if in the end they're not going to do that,it doesn't matter were they ever thinking about that or not

Here's the thing: the rumors would indeed not matter if there was not a MS employee that tried some "in advance" damage control about always online.

He defended always on and everyone wanted to share a piece of their mind.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=52845399&postcount=8013

Ugh,some links(like Japanese one) was i give to him,do you think i don't know what?

The "that" means always online,not Adam,if MS don't do it,it doesn't matter were they think about that or not,the fact is,if <MS officially announce no require online(+block used games),most people will forget it later,but if MS really do it,i don't know,i hope everyone keep remember it until they make a change.

And he seems not MS employee anymore

No, they're not happy about the rumors since they can negatively affect the sales.

There's a saying that goes "All publicity is good publicity". This is a myth.

I heard a rumor that the next xbox will make espresso coffee and come with a free kitten.

But really no matter what, fans will jump up and down about some perceived problem with the xbox and warp anything out of proportion.

mostly it will be the PS fans to try and twist things

Until they get jailed. That's a textbook example of insider trading.

I believe the rumor was actually 4GB.  Still, there were a few rumors that Sony was playing with the idea to up the RAM to 8GB just days/weeks before the announcement.  In the end, all the rumors that started in late 2012 (in conjunction with the updates to them) for the PS4 proved right.  So, this adds credit to the NeXbox rumors, as they are from the same sources.  Then, of course, you have the MS employee defending an online required approach, as well as a developer stating that gamers need to make sure their ISP bills are paid. 

As someone stated earlier, if MS truly is trying to fool everyone, then they just cost one man his career and public standing with gamers.  This would turn out to be much worse publicity than the online required rumors.  Also, the excuse that MS would not shoot down this rumor because they haven't officially announced the NeXbox is a pretty weak one.  There are ways of shooting it down without even talking about the NeXbox.  I would think they would want to do it quickly, too, as the backlash is becoming larger than the hype at this point. 

Personally, I think the rumors are true and MS is struggling to find the exact way they want to approach this announcement, which is why it's taking them so long to even release info about the NeXbox, even though it releases in just 6-8 months.  This backlash isn't helping much, either.  I think that they are going to wait til late May-early June to announce anything.  Either they will have found a good way to ease people into the idea or they will decide to completely drop the idea due to the negative reactions.

Fortunately MS fans didn't need to bitch. Sony fans did that for us. God knows they love to piss and moan about a console they have no interest in.

If MS really does that it'll be MS that really suffers, not the consumer. Much of the 360 userbase isn't even online. That makes it quite clear mandatory online isn't not a smart idea.