Of course TOR is an MMO.
I come from the days of pen and paper DnD back in the seventies. When having 20 players together was considered 'massive'. And, as a designer for one of the most popular Neverwinter Nights (1991) servers, felt deeply the joy of multi-player possibilities. So, for me, an entirely empty online game, devoid of any players at all, that has the potential to support thousands of players... is an MMO.
But enthusiastic elation waned swiftly to despair. To quote: "It's the economy, stupid!"
Sure, you can have millions of players. But without the vital component of interaction...
Back in the day... the whole idea was for people to work together. (raids, killing that nasty thing over there)
But, especially if they never saw each other. (i.e. The Economy)
I still have high hopes for SWTOR, but it has to get back to the community. A relevant bit of Star Wars lore:
Yoda: I am wondering, why are you here?
Luke: I'm looking for someone.
Yoda: Looking? Found someone, you have, I would say, hmmm? "chuckles"