Yes -- it's certainly by design. Recent sources only mention theories, not facts. But I have to say that the Planets and Moons guide predates most of these theories -- I don't know what extent the coldness thing still holds true. We had the Taung/Zhell stuff as early as SotE, iirc. That's before Planets and Moons -- but were the Battalions of Zhell identified as human then? I don't recall that they were.
Except that Earth is not canon, so it doesn't exist! Everything you see is just your fanon and can't be used in debates.