Sure. And at the time it was rationalized that the remaining High Elves were too few in number to meaningfully represent a playable race.
And then they spent the next decade posting up their military force in equal measure to the Blood Elves. They were the major presence for the Alliance in the Thundering Isle, after all.
And then Void Elves happened and killed the argument that there is ever such a thing as ‘too few’.
oh sure, just like how tyrande’s eyes going all black, from her night-warrior ritual don’t mean anything… oh wait.
Because your fellow Alliance members think they own the rights to anything related to high elves even though the game director himself said that blood elves ARE high elves and therefore they’re a horde race.
Apparently the last thing needed to fully end that discussion was giving belfs that option and now that it’s possible that they’ll finally have it, your buddies are angry because they can’t accept it.
Void Elves didn’t really kill it because people were still hopeful. The threads here reflect that.
It really didn’t because they didn’t let that uber power have her kill Nathanos. 
The Game Director also described them as the “fair skinned elf” fantasy in the same source. Is that still true, given the new customization options that contradict that? If the Game Director’s words are gospel, then these dark options should be immediately removed because he said so.
I’d say Draenei did that.
An entire playable population from one tiny crashed ship?
It’s a bloody fantasy game. A ‘wizard did it’ is the explanation for such things.
Well they do live near the SUN well, they’re just heavily tanned now mate, get over it.
Except not. Nightborn were separated from night elves for ten thousand years. Much like high elves & blood elves don’t look anything like night elves, either and none of them look anything like trolls, from which they all came. 
Who heavily speculated that…?
Yeah, the horde had to get compensated somehow for the alliance to be able to steal blood elves. What did you expect?
Blizzard will give the alliance a new AR… the default human complete with default voice… but with elf ears… half elfs
Wait better yet… mecha high elves.
I’m fine with admitting Ion is wrong about them being fair-skinned. My point is he’s not a definitive source on lore and he gets it wrong.
So, which is it? Is he always right or not?
Then why was it so heavily speculated that they’d join the Alliance, and then a total surprise that they joined the Horde?
More because WC 1-3 BEs were part of the alliance and currently lore wise there is suppose to be blue eyed highborne who rejected kael’s fel offer and went to rejoin the alliance with the windrunners sisters.(Two seprate groups following a sister).
100 or so with alleria when the alliance baited the horde away from silvermoon and the 2nd with vanessa went to dalaran.
Mandarin oranges are still oranges, but there are many other types of oranges, so should we stop calling them oranges?
He’s a human, he can make mistakes, but he’s the director and he’s saying that belfes are helves and their biology supports that. I mean, just because they called themselves blood elves as a homage to their fallen kin does it change what they are? It doesn’t.
People could argue a helf faction separated from the rest of the helves/belfes back in silvermoon and joined the alliance, but arguing they’re different races and that each should join a faction makes no sense.
Do they?
Alliance players do not in fact advocate the removal of Blood Elves. The most numerous of the type who own the capital city and all.
I think you’ll find a better definition of ‘selfish’ is Horde players who essential argue “No, you aren’t sharing my pretty elf barbie race.” Oh, they make the same old pretense at points but this is what it boils down to when they are honest.
How is requesting Quel’Dorei somehow selfish or demanding? It is PRECISELY the same as Horde asking for brown orcs. Why? Well because Quel’Dorei have been on Alliance forever, they have been represented in major story arcs throughout the entire history of the game and major Alliance characters feature regularly in the story.
Alleria? Vereesa?
I mean one couldn’t find a BETTER candidate for a desirable and entirely sensible wish for a playable race.
You’re right, he can make mistakes and his word is not gospel.
He is wrong to call the High Elf a “Horde” fantasy when, in fact, it’s been shared by both the Horde and Alliance for years.
The HIgh Elves of the Alliance are the Quel’dorei. The High Elves of the Horde are the Sin’dorei. This is not difficult.
There is more to a race than their physical appearance. That is what makes Quel’dorei and Sin’dorei different.
None of the allied races are unique enough to really be considered a separate race except maybe vulpera, so why don’t high elves meet that bar?
A Faction of them have been Alliance, in so little numbers that they’re hardly relevant, the rest and majority of them are Horde. Stop thinking because the belves started calling themselves something else that they’re a different race. They are not.
I did. My guild did. Other guilds I spoke with did. Other players on different realms that I spoke to did. It was a conversation that was going on before Allied Races were even announced.
There are more High Elves than Void Elves. Being ‘too small’ to be a playable race is no longer an argument.