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| This page contains Nukapedia's content policy. It describes criteria and rules for all or specific types of content. | |
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Content criteria
- All content should relate to the Fallout series, its setting or the SPECIAL character system.
- All content needs to be accurate. Fallout Wiki aims to provide reliable information. In particular, adding speculation and own inventions (fan fiction, fan art etc.) to articles is not allowed. However, a recreation may be added as long as it is accurate to in-game asset depictions (such as with faction icons or company logos) and is delivered in svg or png format with transparency. These recreations must also be labeled clearly as to indicate they are recreations in both image name and within articles.
- All content needs to be verifiable. Other editors need to be able to check and verify it.
- All content needs to be informative. Information which is only of interest to the writer or to other editors (as opposed to readers) should not be included in articles.
- All content needs to be objective. Opinions, gameplay strategy, and "my favorite"-style passages should not be added to articles. Accordingly, guides may only be posted as subpages of one's user page or as a blog.
- All content needs to relate to the games as delivered by the developers; user modifications are not covered by this wiki.
- All content needs to abide by copyright regulations. Generally, content from other sites should not be copied unless permission has been granted. For example, do not upload magazine scans or add illegally-obtained information, so as to avoid potential legal problems.
Criteria for specific content
In the case where the following rules conflict with the general polices, the more specific rule supersedes the general one.
Canon policy
The policy is intended to serve as a guideline for authoring wiki articles, resolving conflicts between sources, and providing references.
It is a policy for the purposes of authoring articles. The Fallout Wiki makes no judgment on canon or non-canon status of the series' elements, recognizing the sole prerogative of the current IP holder to define what is binding for them and what is not.
Notable loot
Behind the scenes
"Behind the scenes" information in the form of cultural references is acceptable page content only if there is developer confirmation or when there are obvious direct visual or textual correlations.
Bugs
Similarities to real-world weapons
Similarities between in-game weapons and real-world weapons are not to be included in articles, with the following two exceptions:
- If there is a sourced quote from a game developer stating which real-world weapon the in-game weapon is based on.
- If the in-game weapon shares the exact name of the real-world weapon.
Pages on real-world countries
Pages for countries/nation states can be created where a Fallout game has been based within the boundaries of that entity (in either the normal, or Fallout universe). This includes released and unreleased games regardless of canon status. Pages for countries can also be created where the country has a significant place in the Fallout lore, including those mentioned in supplemental sources.
Pages can also be created if a character present in a Fallout game claims to be from there, or a character references that location. This page should contain in-game content referencing that character. The page should contain information on that country as it is known to exist in the Fallout universe. It may also contain information of characters that are from that location or who discuss the location.
Using a language or accent common to the place does not merit inclusion on a page in its own right, nor does an ancestral link or name/world etymology justify a page.
Items that may trace their origin to that location should only be listed if that object provides insight on the location's representation in the Fallout universe.
These rules are subject to the general guideline that all articles need to be "strong" enough to stand on their own, meaning there is enough content to justify their existence.
Creation Club
Creation Club content have their own articles, which are separate from the Fallout 4 game content. When linking these articles to non-Creation Club articles the following must be applied:
- Lore: Creation Club content is treated as non-canon and all lore-based information must be enclosed within the
{{CCC}}template. - Quests, notable loot and images: These should be marked with the
at the end of each item (or caption for images). For example:
- Horse power armor
- Horse power armor
Spoiler policy
- In general, the whole wiki is considered a spoiler and specific spoilers should not be marked as such in articles.
- The only exception to this rule is information relating to upcoming games or add-ons, i.e. games or add-ons which have not been released yet but are to be released in the future. This information should be marked as a spoiler with the
{{upcoming}}template.
Attribution policy
Nukapedia proudly makes its content available under a Creative Commons license. The specific version of this license is known as "CC-BY-SA"; this means you can use it and reuse it for whatever you like, as long as you credit us as the source and make whatever you make available under the same license.
How to attribute
When using content created by us, you should use the following tag or banner, to indicate the origin of the content.
 | The contents of this page were partially or entirely copied from Nukapedia, the Fallout Wiki, and are therefore licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. The original version, its history and authors can be found at the Nukapedia page "Fallout Wiki". |
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More information can be found at the template page for this banner.
What doesn't need attribution?
- Raw game files and data taken from the game
- Raw dialogue files
- Texture or graphics files, as exported
- Sound exported from a game (Note: Commercial music may still be subject to the owner's copyright)
- Simple lists of information
- Raw references
If you are unsure if you can use our content, or if you need to attribute it, please ask a member of our friendly admin team.
Plagiarism policy
A wiki doesn't just live and die on the information it contains, it also survives on the reputation it builds as an information source. Plagiarism hurts the wiki's reputation and reduces our ability to be seen as an authoritative information source. It could also put the wiki at risk; unauthorized copyrighted content could see parts of or even the whole wiki made unavailable.
What is, and what is not, plagiarism?
As a trusted source of information, we want as much of our pages as possible to be made up of original content that you can't find anywhere else. To this end, we would prefer you to, whenever possible, create original works that do not directly copy anyone else's work.
This is not to say you can't be inspired by it; maybe you saw something somewhere else that you thought might improve a page. By all means, feel free to bring that to the wiki, but make sure its your own work and written in your own words, and if you can improve and develop the idea further.
Sometimes you may have to use other people's words and work. Here are some (but not all) situations where this is acceptable:
- Licensed content: If you have prior permission from the content owner, you can reuse their content - We've asked permission to present to you many of our sound files for example. You should still cite who the owner of the work is though.
- Copyleft/Creative Commons/public domain: This is a specific form of licensed content. The owner of the work has made it available for anyone to use without prior permission, but in the case of the first two this is subject to some rules. You should ensure that you follow any requirements set by the content owner (such as following the license conditions, or attributing in the way that they request). If no attribution standard is given by the owner, then you should ensure that they are identified and if at all possible the original is linked in the references. For non-displayed content, the comments may also be acceptable.
- Quotes: It's perfectly permissible to quote a person or even a copyrighted work. Your quote should be limited to the amount you need to make your point. For example, you can't quote an entire magazine article, but a paragraph or two may be acceptable. You should use the
{{Quotation}}template and link to the source of the quote wherever possible, giving credit to the author/speaker/publication. - Fair use: There are also times where it is possible to reuse content within the US's "Fair Use" exemption. Much of the source files and screenshots fall into this category, as do images used in news reporting. The origin should be credited and linked wherever possible.
What happens if I break the rules
- Good faith attempts to attribute shouldn't ordinarily see punishment. If you have done something incorrectly, we'll show you how to put it right. We appreciate the thought and effort you make, and won't punish you for a simple mistake. If you keep making the exact same mistake, we may have to restrict your ability to edit the wiki.
- If you are a new user, or someone who is new at editing, and make no effort to attribute content that is not your own, then you will receive a maximum of one warning for this behavior. After this warning, we expect you to make a good faith attempt to attribute. (Getting it wrong is better than not doing it at all.)
- If you have already been warned, or are someone who we feel should know better (this includes experienced editors and the entire admin team) and you fail to make even a good faith attempt to attribute, enforcement action will be taken. For users in this group, there is zero tolerance.
What happens if I see someone who breaks the rule, or I suspect content has been copied?
- If it is a fresh edit, you should undo (or revert) the edit (or if it's just part of a larger edit, remove just the suspect content), and leave a note on the talk page indicating what you have done, why, and where you think the information has been copied from.
- If it is existing information, then remove the specific content and leave a note on the talk page.
- If you are a content owner (or other responsible person for the source), and you believe your content has been misused or copied, please instead notify our Plagiarism Point of Contact.
- If you notice a user repeatedly using plagiarized content, please alert an administrator.
Point of contact
The Plagiarism Point of Contact (PPOC) is an administrator who accepts reports of potential plagiarism. They have no special enforcement powers beyond being an administrator, but instead act as a single point to report issues to.
The PPOC may investigate issues directly, or may ask a fellow member of the admin team to handle an issue. If the PPOC hasn't replied to a talk page comment in a significant amount of time, then any admin is free to take the lead.