Did I say that? I didn't say that. There's a core, which is generic. Then you build on that. If you add fifty elven subraces and high magic, you get FR. If you add warforged and dinosaurs, you get Eberron. If you add tieflings and warlords, you get 4e (or, more specifically, its default setting and style, whatever that's called).
I don't think a "generic core" of D&D is a good idea. Yes, there is some limitation because of the number of pages and price tag, but I don't even think humans, elves, dwarves and whatever short-people race you like best should necessarily consitutue "generic".
Sure, they can be MADE generic, with the humans being Captain Generic and the others crewing the Blandmobile, but I really don't think that is or should be the case.
When you add in "non-generic" races, I think that sorta forces the "generic 4" to prove their worth. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, short-people need
something more than being
just humans, elves, dwarves and short-people.
And as for "setting and style", I don't really think that plane-touched or dragon-born are particularly setting specific. The only reason they feel this way is because of their fluff. If dragons exist in a given world, which in most D&D worlds they do, there has likely been some cross-breeding either on purpose or by deviant dragons and wizards to create dragon-humanoids. Whether this was enough to build a civilization or not is up to the DM, but the fluff need not specify some ancient conflict between noble draongborn and evil demon-people.
The same goes for plane-touched, few, to no D&D realms exist without any contact from the planes, and that contact, like with dragons, likely resulted either on purpose or by deviation in plane-touched humanoids. No specific empires or setting fluff required. They exist as much or as little as the DM commands, they hail from whatever background the DM deigns to give them.
Classical Mythology is positively
littered with the offspring of gods and demons. D&D draws from that IMO a lot more than it does merely from Tolkein. Where is my Hercules? My 22 str plane-touched human? What about my Achilles? Judeo-Christian theology is filled with the idea of evil beings attempting to procreate with humans. These are NOT uncommon ideas.
However, it's important to note that more is not better. Humans, elves, and dwarves are where it's at. Partially because of LotR but for a lot of other reasons as well. Making a race chapter with 10 races, some of the unrecognizable, some of them offensive to some people's sensibilities, is not a step forward.
Deal with it. You know what offends me? Halfings. Dwarves. People who play them. But you know what? They're gonna be there, and I'm not going to fight that, because I know some people have a lot of fun playing these things. What exactly gives you the right to dictate other people's fun?
If D&D is going to be played by any significant number of people, it has to be pretty generic to start, and then allow you to do what you want with a plethora of options, which is the substance of the suggestions I made.
I disagree. If DDN is going to get ANYWHERE, it needs to make a mark for itsself. If "Basic" D&D is so basic that we can't do anything other than play humans, dwarves, elves and short-people, you know what people are going to do? NOT PLAY IT. Why should I drop hundreds of dollars on something "generic"? That's not my desired D&D experience, I can get that from ANY d20 system, namely, ones I already own.