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Although I do not own a GBB, I can make a comment on metal and springs. I am not an expert, but a Mechanical Engineering degree helps out a little bit.
If what It_poncho states is correct, and the springs in GBBs are tin, then it would not be beneficial to keep them loaded with BBs. Tin, like steel, and all metals for that matter, have certain physical properties. One such property which makes them distinct is its malleability. This is what allows metals to be worked with so readily for bending, especially under heat. Every time a spring is compressed, this malleability will make the spring not fully expand again. This is happening at an atomic level, and would not be visible for possibly thousands of cycles, depending on the material. The longer the spring is compressed, the more the spring "wants" to stay in that position.
Now with the example of the WWII mag found still functioning. That's no surprise. If it was indeed a steel spring, they are resilient. Tin on the other hand is much more malleable than steel, and would be affected far greater than steel. So the moral of today's story is that storing a magazine loaded, from a physics point of view, should be avoided. However, I have no idea how long the magazine should stay loaded before there is any noticable effects.
Bottom line, Greylocks is correct from a firearms safety point of view, and a scientific point of view.
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