I'd assume as much. At least they have a place to chat where they won't get banned.
OH don't worry. The chat is going to be great when we can tell who's online and go at it with the fruit trading and ruling the Stalk Market with turnip prices. Oh yeah we'll point out which neighbors we got and shop items we got for the day. OH even trade duplicate fossils and point out BUGS that other members haven't gotten to get early in another person's town. ETC ETC. Its essentially a larger Best Friend feature that was limited to 32. Screenshots galore too.
Its probably even better that we can moderate ourselves better in the chat when we can tell who's entering the each other's town and doing what. So there's a lot of positives here.
Again, anyone who's up for community sharing and the like when the game launches, pm me for the chat address. We'll love to have you.