Talk:Races

With the exception of the Protheans and the Reapers, no race names are capitalized. They're written human, turian, asari, rather than Human. Turian, Asari. Somebody's going to have to go through and check every page, because tne names are improperly capitalized more often than they're written properly.

Rachni
Should the Rachni really be listed as extinct? I mean, I know one of the choices in the game (SPOILER WARNING!!!) can render them extinct, but the other choice leaves them alive and more or less well. Also, there are Rachni encountered on several other worlds. I'm just not quite sure if we need to lump them in the same catagory with the Protheans. SpartHawg948 12:01, 25 February 2008 (UTC)


 * My guess is that they're categorized that way because that's how the game lists them in the Codex. If visitors want more information on the true fate of the Rachni, they could always just read the page. King Zeal 14:00, 25 February 2008 (UTC)
 * If we list humans under Council Races, rachni shouldn't be listed as extinct. Conrad Verner 21:46, 26 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I personally don't think humans should be. But, precedent doesn't produce a valid argument. King Zeal 15:23, 28 February 2008 (UTC)
 * There's something else to consider: we don't find out that the rachni *aren't* extinct until you're quite a way into the Noveria mission. Until then everyone's described them as extinct. So putting the rachni under non-extinct races could technically be considered a spoiler. Maybe not a particularly serious one, but... still, something to consider. --Tullis 11:45, 7 June 2008 (UTC)

Re: Garol
Oh...I see how this is gonna go, Tullis. If you want to block me...I'M NEVER COMING BACK TO THIS SITE AGAIN!!! BUH-BYE!


 * Um, I actually said the article would need to have some sort of source before we'd accept it, and that recreating a rumour-mill page without citation (or a fictional one) and presenting it as fact after you've been asked not to is grounds for being blocked. But from your own apparent admission, it sounds like these 'garol' are a race you've thought up and would want BioWare to add, rather than one you've heard about and want to share. If I'm wrong, just give me the source and I'll happily chow down on my humble pie. But if you still want to leave, that's your choice... sorry to see you go. --Tullis 16:27, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Oh... I didn't know. I never said that I wanted to add my new "race" to Mass Effect 2, I said that I wanted BioWare to CONSIDER adding this race to Mass Effect 2.

I bet you already know that the elcor won the "Best New Species of the Year" award in the Official Xbox Live magazine. BioWare should consider adding an elcor squad member in Mass Effect 2.

Rachni
I don't think that the rachni should be listed as an "extinct" race. Since my Shepard (yes, my Shepard is female- got a problem with that?) freed the rachni queen in my game, I figure that the rachni will turn up again in Mass Effect 2. Tullis, do you know where the rachni queen went? I don't know, and I might never find out until ME 2 is released. And if it doesn't turn up in ME 2, I'll have to wait till ME 3 or even ME 4 comes out. I would also like to send a recommendation to BioWare to include a rachni squad member, which would be badass, as the rachni have some powerful melee and ranged attacks, including a ranged acid attack that acts something like Neural Shock. I also think that in Mass Effect 2 the rachni should be your allies and fight the geth at your side...possibly a long-overdue gratitude from the rachni queen for giving her life and witholding her destruction? If you have any opinions, please let me know.

24.237.35.132 21:47, 4 June 2008 (UTC) MysticVulture, Tullis' backer

The notion of the Rachni being extinct is a contested issue. Personally, the Rachni still exist, but are extremely few in number, most important being the Queen. But the other Rachni are merely modified clones created by scientists in Noveria, extracting DNA from the Queen, hence her being in a tube and isolated from her "children".

Another issue of note is what happens afterwards in the game. Even if the player chooses to save the Queen, there are several missions in which the Rachni somehow still attack. If they were pure Rachni, the Queen would have a measure of control over them, thus confirming at least partially that these Rachni are simply genetically-modified copies.

H-Man Havoc 20:12, December 16, 2009 (UTC)


 * That's why, in the Races footer, they are described as "historical" rather than extinct; it's sufficiently accurate to indicate that they are not a part of Citadel society, but not calling them extinct means we sidestep a lot of the did we kill / did we not kill / do we spoil Noveria or not issues. In the Codex they are specifically placed under extinct races, which may be why they're tagged as such here.
 * I do not understand why you are talking about modified clones. It is specifically said that the rachni brood on Noveria was hatched from eggs. The rachni queen explicitly states that she does not have control over her brood because they were separated from her and she had no chance to "shape their minds"; Yaroslev Tartakovsky says the same thing. Her lack of control in no way "confirms" that they are modified clones, and there is no suggestion that any of the rachni are clones.
 * The fact they attack in other missions--even after being raised "in close proximity to the master control unit", as Cerberus puts it--is moot, and an issue for the xenopsychologists out there. I assume it's because Cerberus are colossal idiots who forgot to treat the rachni as intelligent soldiers, rather than as just smart animals. I imagine they had a "damn dirty apes!" moment and just snapped. --Tullis 20:31, December 16, 2009 (UTC)

Re: Garol
Hi Tullis,

I just wanted to let you know that I couldn't find ANY sources about the garol. So I figure that you're right. The garol don't exist in the Mass Effect universe at all. But I have a recommendation for BioWare to support my ideas by adding a garol squad member in Mass Effect 2. Also, I think that BioWare should consider adding an ELCOR squad member in Mass Effect 2. BioWare should also consider making the rachni allies to the player, possibly a favor from the rachni queen for sparing her life and saving her people? I always wondered where the rachni queen went after I released her.

24.237.35.132 05:53, 5 June 2008 (UTC) MysticVulture, your idea-maker

Re: Garol
Hi Tullis,

What I meant about the "garol evolving from the quarians" is a misunderstanding. I didn't say that ALL the quarians evolved into the garol, but I meant to say that once, before the geth were created, the quarians resided on their homeworld in happiness, but during the battle with the geth, some of the quarians were killed, while some of the others evolved into the garol and have never been heard of since. I'm sure that you'll understand. I also think that the quarians created the geth, but the garol funded their creation. So, write back! No, there IS no citation, but I STILL want BioWare to consider adding the race to Mass Effects 2 and 3.

24.237.35.132 02:14, 7 June 2008 (UTC) MysticVulture, your idea-maker

P.S. I know that if I continue posting any rumors about the garol with no citation, you'll block me. But I think that I should be able to express my ideas. I'm sure that you'll understand this.

Unfounded speculation is not appreciated
Perhaps you don't understand the implementation of a wiki is not for community expression, but to facilitate community education.

If a private school 'educated' you that above the clouds there was an ocean of skittles, and someone later found that to be false, the private school would be unappreciated, possibly scorned.

If you wish to continue to express unfounded speculation, do so in a supporting environment; like in some public forums (this wiki has some, so does bioware), prefixed with 'Idea:', 'Speculation:', or otherwise in an appropriate category.

Clearly separate what you merely 'think' from what you know. The Rachni may or may not be extinct; therefore it is founded speculation (as opposed to unfounded speculation), thus it is acceptable for educational purposes, but should still be clearly expressed as speculation.

The Garol do not exist except as an idea, your idea, thus it is 'unfounded speculation' that they are even officially connected to the Mass Effect universe, and not suitable educational content. If you wish to describe them in further detail, it should be done in a 'Fan Fiction', 'Ideas', or 'Speculation' category of a social expression network (read: forums, such as the Wikia Mass Effect forums, or the official BioWare Mass Effect forums), instead of a social educational reference, like the Wikia Mass Effect Wiki.

Best case scenario, a 'Fan Fiction' category could be created here, and your 'Garol' could completely disconnected from all non-'Fan Fiction' elements of the wiki, such as the official list of known races, with a page header explicitly declaring it as a fan fabricated element, outside of official Mass Effect canonical material.

64.53.58.247 02:43, 7 June 2008 (UTC)


 * P.S. I know that if I continue posting any rumors about the garol with no citation, you'll block me. But I think that I should be able to express my ideas. I'm sure that you'll understand this.
 * You're perfectly welcome to express your ideas. However, this is not the right place to express them. As said above, the purpose of a wiki is to provide accurate information to the best of our ability. We have a responsibility to make these articles as clear and informative as possible for everyone. That means personal speculation and ideas belong as mentions on Talk pages at most. There are already fan sites and forums out there for speculation, ideas, fan fiction, role-playing etc and there are useful links here for a starting point. If you really want BioWare to add the garol in Mass Effect 2, you should be posting on the official forums to bring it to their attention there, not here. Since you've already said above that the garol don't exist in Mass Effect, there are no 'rumours' apart from what you're creating yourself. The garol do not belong here.
 * As an admin, it is my responsibility to help keep this wiki in good order for all users and editors. Adding new races because you think they'd be cool forms no part of that. I have no control over what goes in Mass Effect 2 or 3 and it is not my place to state what happened to the Rachni Queen. (Part of Mass Effect's appeal is its ability to make choices; what's canon for you or me is not canon for someone else and we have to cater to them too.)
 * You've stated (and repeated) your opinion more than once. I understand your wish to have this race included, but this is not the way to go about it and we cannot help you. In the meantime you are creating a disturbance to other users and inconveniencing me. You've had your say and I've responded to it. Now please leave this issue alone. --Tullis 07:36, 7 June 2008 (UTC)

You know what? I already know that you've warned me about this. Perhaps you don't understand. But I'm starting to think that I don't belong here, and I'm also starting to think that you think that my ideas stink. If that's how you want it, fine. I'm not going to tell you anything more about my incredible new race. And about the Rachni Queen? Yes, Mass Effect's purpose is based on the player's own decisions. But I STILL think that she has a debt that she hasn't repaid yet. You're the boss; I'll just take your suggestion and take my ideas and put them elsewhere, but not here. I'm done with this issue, and I'll leave the matter alone.

24.237.35.132 07:00, 16 June 2008 (UTC)MysticVulture

Humans as Council race
Please don't add humans to the Council races list. They don't become a Council race right until the end. --Tullis 23:41, 22 August 2008 (UTC)
 * After repeatedly fixing this spoiler despite actually embedding a request for people not to do it in the editing source, I've reordered this page into Citadel and non-Citadel races. --Tullis 01:51, 18 February 2009 (UTC)

To be more precise, I suggest that the Citadel Races be split into two, much like the Wikipedia article: Council and Non-Council. Not to pry but since you built the site and is the admin, even you should know that.

Regarding the embedded request, you'll have to change the article anyway once Mass Effect 2 comes out, since they WILL be featured as a council race. Evidence of this can be seen in the voice acting video, in which the "former" Captain Anderson corrects Commander Shepard when the latter is greeted by the former, as he says to Shepard: "Councilman Anderson now".

H-Man Havoc 20:51, December 15, 2009 (UTC)


 * Oops, misread. And I didn't actually build this site, I just edit / admin it. : ) And my comment is... a year old. Seems odd to be discussing this again now...
 * It's a lot easier sticking to Citadel / non-Citadel, for the same reasons discussed here. Splitting races by their Council status has never gone well when we've tried it. --Tullis 20:56, December 15, 2009 (UTC)
 * Also: there is no embedded comment. It became unnecessary as soon as the page was split into Citadel / non-Citadel. A glance at the page code will show that. --Tullis 21:03, December 15, 2009 (UTC)


 * Also, can I just ask one question? "Not to pry but since you built the site and is [sic] the admin, even you should know that."(emphasis added) Was that really necessary? Funny thing about us admins, We aren't omniscient. As for why 'even we should know that' I assume you mean we should know because it's Mass Effect related? Funny thing about that. Last time I looked at a Mass Effect related page on wikipedia was over a year ago, reason being b/c there's no real reason for me to. It's not a valid source for info (although it IS a useful place to link to w/ non-ME related external links) and for issues of style or formatting, I'm much more likely to go to Wikia, not wikipedia, as this site is in no way affiliated with wikipedia. So in the future, can we maybe avoid saying things like "Not to pry but since you built the site and is the admin, even you should know that."? Common courtesy, please. SpartHawg948 21:19, December 15, 2009 (UTC)

Maybe it wasn't necessary, but my point of saying that, was that I may not be an admin, but I do pay attention to details regardless of how small. I won't however remark on every single one as it is unnecessary. Point is that the subject matter is significant enough to be noted. As for my comment, at least it was not of an aggressive tone, hence the "I don't mean to pry" part of it.

H-Man Havoc 20:04, December 16, 2009 (UTC)


 * But again, as I noted, there really isn't much reason for us to keep an eye on the wikipedia page. If anything, they need to keep an eye on us to stay up to date. Also, our formatting is necessarily going to be much different from theirs, as we are much more thorough. Also, just out of interest I did peruse the wikipedia page, and it does not, as you stated, divide Citadel races by Council/Associate status. They divide them into the same groups we do: Citadel, Non-Citadel, Extinct. At the risk of sounding snide "even you should know that". (Sorry, couldn't resist :P) Lastly, the "Not to pry" bit doesn't take away from the fact that it was not necessary at all to say "even you should know that". It's like the whole "no offense" thing. You can't say "no offense, but..." then insult someone and expect them to take no offense to it. Same here. I have no idea how "Not to pry" was supposed to make "even you should know that" not seem rude, but whatev. End of the day, wikipedia does it the same way we do, so there's really no need to suggest we do it their way, cuz they already do it our way! SpartHawg948 20:22, December 16, 2009 (UTC)

I agree
The goral do not exist and should never exist the person who invented them just wants people to supporrt the goral to be in Mass Effect 2

Recent edits to races
Why have we suddenly gone from using " Salarians " to " Salarians "? It's not very elegant. --Tullis 19:52, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Vorcha Image
Should the vorcha have the image found on their page? Instead of the generic cluster of stars? -Ninsegtari 21:21, November 6, 2009 (UTC)
 * That's just a concept art pic, I believe. Let's wait for a better screenshot. --Tullis 21:23, November 6, 2009 (UTC)
 * Well if it's a concept art pic, why is it on the vorcha page? And It's actually not concept art, watch this video. You can see vorcha and the look just like that "concept art pic". --Joshtopher27 20:02, November 17, 2009 (UTC)
 * I don't oversee the ME2 pages, so I don't edit what's on them. If you want to grab a screenshot, feel free. --Tullis 20:08, November 17, 2009 (UTC)
 * Ah, I thought you were the head honcho on here. I'm sorry. I fail. :( --Joshtopher27 21:44, November 17, 2009 (UTC)
 * There's no "head honcho", though I do what I can. : ) I just don't edit ME2 pages or watch the vids or anything, because it's already very hard for me to avoid spoilers. The man you want for any ME2 edits is SpartHawg948.
 * Re: the vorcha image though--I much prefer in-game screenshots to promo or concept art to keep a consistent look throughout the wiki and on the Races page, hence me suggesting we wait for the time being. But if there are images out there which might work better, feel free to upload them. --Tullis 21:47, November 17, 2009 (UTC)
 * Yeah I see your point with the pictures, I'll wait with ya lol. --Joshtopher27 00:59, November 18, 2009 (UTC)

Species 37
Hi. I'm a little confused as to where the Thorian belongs in this article. We're told in the game that the Thorian is a unique creature, but I personally have a hard time believing that. Plus, you don't call a unique creature "Species 37". Maybe it exists a 'Thorian race', but every individual of that race is unique, in a different way than the members of other species. If we would include the Thorian in this article would we put it under Non-Council races or Extinct races. Swedish guy 18:11, November 25, 2009 (UTC)
 * It's not a race. The Thorian classes as a creature. --Tullis 19:18, November 25, 2009 (UTC)

Lystheni
i aruge that the lystheni derve a place on this page, they are a valid race from mass effect. Either as a foot note for the salarians, or a star image on non-citadel races. I have presented my reasons, if you support this thank you, if you dont please provide valid reasons. ralok 01:16, December 10, 2009 (UTC)
 * I'll support that they should be added as a section to salarians.--Xaero Dumort 03:22, December 10, 2009 (UTC)
 * Well, the problem with your edits, ralok, is this: You are just tacking the lystheni onto the salarians, which is not appropriate. The lystheni are offshoots of the salarians, not actual salarians. We don't know how much of an offshoot, just that they are distinct enough to be treated seperately. Also, they are NOT a council race. For both of these reasons, it is not correct to just add (lystheni) to the salarian post on this page, which is listed under council races. It's all kinds of factually inaccurate. They should be added as a separate entry in the non-citadel races section, or, if it does turn out that they are just a genetic offshoot of the salarian race shunned for some other reason (ie social or racial reasons) then the whole lystheni article can just get merged with the salarian page. However, since we don't know the exact nature of the "offshoot"/distinctiveness bit, I think we should wait for ME2 to see if it sheds a little more light. It's only a month and a half away. Not that long. SpartHawg948 03:30, December 10, 2009 (UTC)


 * the fact is they are a genetically distinct people who are not members of the citadel. That is all that is known, so i propose a link be placed in non citadel races and a blank star image be use as a place holder. This is reasonable andd i feel necessary. ralok 06:16, December 10, 2009 (UTC)


 * Indeed it is, and I supported that, if you will read my post. However, the edit you made (twice) to the races page adding (lystheni) onto the salarian entry is not acceptable. This was, of course, the gist of my post, as re-reading it will show. Although I will (again) point out (I seem to be doing a lot of rehashing of my last post...) that due to the lack of info we should hold off until ME2 comes out. In fact, I'm starting to doubt whether the article on the lystheni will survive if they aren't in ME2. The zeioph don't have a page after all, and we know as much about them as we do about the lystheni. And stating that they are a genetically distinct people is, at this point, pure speculation. We know they are offshoots. That's it. Maybe they're cultural offshoots, racial offshoots, who knows. Genetic distinction has not been stated thus far.So again, I support the proposal, but would like to hold off until ME2 to see if we get more info. Again, it's only a month and a half. That isn't very long at all. SpartHawg948 08:07, December 10, 2009 (UTC)


 * We do not know they are genetically distinct. They may be simply culturally or socially different. And if even if there were genetic differences, they are still salarians, as they are referred to as Lystheni salarians, not simply Lystheni. There is already a page for them; when there's more information we can add a "see also" to the top of the salarian page.
 * But they are clearly not a Citadel race, so regardless, they shouldn't simply be tacked on to the salarians. If there's enough differences for them to be treated as a separate race and there's sufficient reason, we may add them as a non-Citadel race, but as "Lystheni salarians", which is their proper name. However, I think their proper place is as a corollary to the salarian article, certainly for the moment. --Tullis 13:13, December 10, 2009 (UTC)


 * IT isnt exactly known why they are shunned from council space, offshoot usually means there is some sort of genetic differences (at least i think it does). Soif anything it should be opposite of the edits i had made with Lystheni as its own box wiht salarian in perenthesis. ralok 14:55, December 10, 2009 (UTC)


 * Ralok, you said in your edit summary when you first added this, "I felt it would be a good edit, change it if you feel otherwise." We feel otherwise, so we've changed it. "Offshoot" could mean anything; like I said, they could also be cultural offshoots. We don't know yet because we only know three things about them: their name, the fact they're described as offshoots, and that they live on Omega because for some reason, they're not welcome elsewhere. For all we know, they could be some special kind of clan or political group. I really don't know what you mean by "separate box"; like I said above, IF describing them as a separate race is warranted, and IF we add them to non-Citadel races, they'd be described as Lystheni salarians (no parentheses). Because that is what they are given as in Mass Effect: Ascension, currently the only source we have for them. We'll see how they are handled / described in ME2, if they appear in ME2, before we make any decisions about how we want to handle them. --Tullis 15:14, December 10, 2009 (UTC)

Extinct races fault?
There's a race called "Zeioph" listed under extinct races, but when you click on it you're taken to a page for one of the planets. Is that a mistake?--92.1.139.73 06:12, December 12, 2009 (UTC)


 * Sure isn't! There used to be a page for the zeioph, but there really wasn't enough info to justify an entire page, so instead it was redirected to the page for the planet that contains all the known info about the zeioph. SpartHawg948 06:26, December 12, 2009 (UTC)

Updated Racial Pictures
The pictures of the races from Mass Effect 1 look a bit dated in comparison to the newer species, don't they? It wouldn't be hard to find new ones to use. --SpectreJustice 22:37, December 15, 2009 (UTC)
 * We've been talking about this elsewhere. We'll probably wait and get the ME2 Codex ones, if we decide to change them. --Tullis 22:38, December 15, 2009 (UTC)