I agree totally that specific class information is not necessary. A player new to muds however will be interested in what the hell your race/class means in general. So, what I would not like to see is a detailed help information about what specific races are like. What I would like to see is information on what implications picking a class has on your playing.

If we tell a total newbie that fire giants get 25 str, and arials get 25 dex, and that a fire giant will pincer really good, it will be of 0 help. On the other hand, what a player new to mudding will be interested in, is how different races will affect his playing experience. How will he know what race others are? Remember, this can be new territory, in WoW it's really easy to tell an elf since he obviously looks like an elf. In our on-site manual, it will be useful to spell out things like:
<45 Elf Pal> Laelliana the Hand of Justice - you will be able to tell the race of other players by checking the who list.

I think we're entirely on the same page.