The real question: has this ever been different? There was a huge update on EF quite some time ago. Since then it has been this way. Maybe it was different for a bit until 711 figured out how to make it work this way. However, I can't remember how it was before that, though I assume it was the same. Therefore, no, it hasn't ever been any different.
I don't know who you were talking to but I consider 711 a trustworthy source
Anyways, even though we have the search-function here on EF, these kind of questions pop up every now and then and have been answered as much. Therefore, I'm pretty sure that we will have the exact same discussion again.
Maybe this thread now contains all answers and we can direct all future threads to this one here...