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Modular settings: a setting that is described in such a way that you don't need to read 50 pages to use it. Given that, is it possible to take any setting and break it into ever increasing lumps:

1. Introduction
No more than 6 paragraphs.

2. Lite Version
Enough to understand the setting and get excited, not so much it takes days to get through. 5 pages?

3. Core
The core setting but lacking in detail in certain areas. Quite deep.

4. Sourcebook (many of these)
Goes into detail about one particular area that the GM wants to run a particular campaign in.

Let's say we took a few games that have HUGE settings. Erm... Icar, The Artefact and Dead & Back. How would we make them lite game friendly? An few paragraphs of introduction isn't quite enough - perhaps a page isn't even enough. Would it be possible to turn those huge settings into a setting that would sit in front of something lite-awesome like Warrior Rogue and Mage (by Michael "Stargazer" Wolf)?

Would you have to cut huge amounts out so that it wasn't the setting anymore? I'm throwing that out there.

I would suggest that you start even smaller.

Start with an "Elevator Pitch". Sum up the setting in three sentences. This is the "Guys, we've got to play this!" pitch.

Next, build each sentence into a paragraph. Here is your "Introduction".

Carry onward as per your post.

I think the best way to go about modularizing a setting is to think about it from the standpoint of a new player. What do they need to know? What is the minimum amount of introduction you can give them? What about the GM, do they need to read the whole book? Can they get in and run a game without memorizing the whole game?

I always assumed that players did this because we did. We would read until we got a "good enough" idea of what was going on and then we'd play. It appears that other groups don't do that. Or at least not everyone does.

If a GM is looking to play Artifact, I really don't care if he knows who the Grimhadon are. Just get the basics and play. Maybe that needs to be more clearly delineated? I tried to spell that out in the rules, that there were rules available but they're not needed for all games so just play with what you need. I did this a little bit in Artifact by putting some description of the native PC classes culture so a starting player could read a page and play.

The majority of the other player classes can start at near zero in game knowledge as long as the GM can deliver that information in game.

Getting the GM up to speed is a different matter though. I tried to write the most important things first in a section but that's not always easy to do.

I prefer a short introduction about the setting. What is the world like? What kind of roleplaying can I expect? It should be not loger than a page. You can add a large chapter about the world etc. but if I want to introduce someone into a setting I only need this page.

There should be some amount of distinction between "setting" and "world building".

In my view*, "setting" is anything pertinent to how the world affects the game: What races are there? What abilities\powers\equipment are available? Are any of these tied to specific regions or nationalities?
"World building" is everything else.

If a player walked in off the street, what would they need to know about the setting to build a character and start playing?

* I acknowledge a seriously spartan viewpoint towards setting and fluff.