I don’t know that this is a reasonable generalization. Certainly in my CS department one could write a thesis to receive an MS, and no MAs were offered. Just one data point, from a very large state school; YMMV.
You're correct, it's not a reasonable generalization. See my reply above.
The essence of my answer is based on the way things were in my graduate programs at my university when I was in school there; and some observations from so-called terminal Master's degree programs.
The essence of my answer is based on the way things were in my graduate programs at my university when I was in school there; and some observations from so-called terminal Master's degree programs.