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Forums: Index > Wiki proposal votes > Vote: Fallout 76 player character
F76 Forum NameVote Poster

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!

Recently, our community has engaged in a long and thorough discussion regarding the way in which we refer to the player character in Fallout 76. Many good points have been raised and discussed, but have yet to reach a consensus, most recently on the article's talk page.

Opinions on the matter were pretty diverse, as to be expected. The topic has a significant impact on how we navigate writing and referencing a multiplicity of articles focused on the ever-expanding game. Fallout 76 is community-based, as is Nukapedia, so I think it prudent that the decision of how we refer to this content is determined collectively, not left to one or a few. Having been discussed at length, I wish to call the decision to a vote.

Thank you for contributing to the process, by casting your vote below.

-kdarrow Pickman heart take her for a spin! 23:49, October 21, 2020 (UTC)

Vote

Based on the comments within the talk page discussion, the suggested choices are outlined as followed. Please vote "yes" for your preferred option, "no" votes are not required. The idea with the most yes votes will be utilized within applicable articles moving forward. Copy and paste the following into sections below:

# {{yes}} ~~~~

PLEASE NOTE: To be eligible to vote, users must be logged in and have made either one edit or one discussion post/comment prior to voting.

Option 1: Resident

Maintain the existing name of the Fallout 76 player character as Resident, linked as Resident (Vault 76), and stylized within narratives as resident or residents.

  1. Yes JCB2077 (talk) 00:02, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  2. Yes We already refer to the protagonist of the first game as vault dweller even though this would be in lower case. Resident is a much better option than vault dweller because vault dweller might be confused with vault dwellers of other vaults. This could be resolved by adding uppercase letters but since it's already taken up by the protagonist of the first game and since the player character in this game is not a singular entity we cannot use upper case letters. Jgrsoto Coat of arms of Puerto Rico 00:05, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  3. Yes - New California Ahoy Bear of the North Star lapel pin FO76 Red star pin "Who are you, that do not know their history?" 00:08, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  4. Yes - considering you can find a reference to every vault-original PC ever being called "Vault Dweller", we shouldn't treat the mega-generic name that transcends games as the wiki official name for the 76 PC. Besides, the two earliest games in the timeline having the same PC name will be immensely confusing. "Oh wow, how the hell did the guy from Fallout 1 get to Appalachia?" --DankalorYT 03:45, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  5. Yes - Having two PCs known as the Vault Dweller is confusing, and honestly if we go by in-game sources or confusing Bethesda statements, then the Sole Survivor is also the Vault Dweller at times too. Resident is far better. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jeet-Maht (talkcontribs). Please sign your posts with ~~~~!
  6. Yes We've decided two years ago it should be Resident. The visitors here have grown accustomed to that name. We should not change it anymore, as it will only cause confusion. We already have used the name Vault Dweller. And with the linking you can't see the difference anymore (Vault Dweller and [[Vault Dweller (Fallout 76)|Vault Dweller]] will have the same appearance. Just leave it as is. Water under the bridge. Even move it to Resident I'd say. Jspoel Speech Jspoel 16:46, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  7. Yes - As above, we have used Resident for two years now and we already have a vault dweller. I see no reason in changing it now. Why make more work for ourselves?--Branebriar1930 (talk) 17:06, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  8. Yes When I make my fan art (gifs, screens) I use "resident". It makes little sense to me to use a generic name instead especially one already used in previous games. The only other option i would accept would be "Reclamationist".Thus spoke Shane for Wax (Speak back) 17:11, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  9. Yes Vault Dweller is a much more confusing term, all things considered. garwert (talk) 17:20, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  10. Yes - I think that even if the Fallout 76 PC is a "Vault Dweller" from Vault 76, using the term "Resident" to differentiate between the F76 PC and other Vault Dwellers in the game history is an appropriate course of action in order to avoid confusion between the two. --ManintheFens (talk) 18:10, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  11. Yes We should try to make it so that each player character has their own name that will not be confused with others. Calling them "Vault Dweller" will just cause confusion. There should only be disambiguation pages when absolutely necessary, calling the character "Resident" makes a disambiguation page unnecessary. LandonJJ17 (talk) 18:29, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  12. Yes I think the Resident is a fine name and see no need to change it. It's true that the player character is in fact a vault dweller, but using that name would only make it more confusing.--The Appalachian (talk) 19:58, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  13. Yes While there are multiple nicknames given throughout the game, I feel that "Resident" is most appropriate, since the Vault 76 terminals (which players would have earliest access to) explicitly refer to our characters as the "Vault Residents". Not sure why people are saying that isn't official, it's in-game. Saxhleel12 (talk) 20:14, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  14. Yes JM1998 (talk) 20:18, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  15. Yes I prefer Resident (or Residents) as the unique title for 76's player character and also keeps it a lot more distinct from the Vault Dweller of FO1. Devastating DaveZIP ZAP RAP 20:19, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  16. Yes Cited sources for "vault dweller" are insufficiently authoritative to warrant a change which will likely confuse readers. Aya42 (talk) 21:11, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  17. Yes Onmyferz (talk) 00:56, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
  18. Yes I'm not really adding anything new here, but per the above: Insufficient authority to override and make the confusion justifiable. Come back to me when you've got word from someone who worked directly on the game and I'll happily change my vote. |\| () |\/| /\ |) | Talk | Discord | NMC 07:38, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
  19. Yes The name should stay. Infernox-Ratchet 8:42, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
  20. Yes It's been like this forever. It makes more sense than the other options on the table. —Preceding unsigned comment added by FilthyCasual523 (talkcontribs). Please sign your posts with ~~~~! 20:52, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
  21. Yes Maybe this is a hugely contrary opinion, but I feel like the capitalization/pluralization business should get definitively sorted out before the vote (which I'm not seeing? Haven't been following closely.) Otherwise I somewhat support a change. FDSMDP (talk) 21:36, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
  22. Yes I vote resident because: it cannot be confused with other pc names, it is unique, it is compliant with the current naming conventions, mc is referred to as resident on several terminals, all of the main protagonists of the main games are technically vault dwellers. Raptormoses (talk) 17:01, October 24, 2020 (UTC)
  23. Yes There is sufficient evidence for both names, but for the sake of lessening confusion on the Wiki "Resident" makes more sense. Master Tej (talk) 17:55, October 24, 2020 (UTC)
  24. Yes AustinL455 (talk) 20:47, October 24, 2020 (UTC)
  25. Yes Fishycracker12 (talk) 21:44, October 24, 2020 (UTC)
  26. Yes I prefer resident since the vault dweller is your character if Fallout (1997) SublimeStudios 19:42, October 25, 2020 (UTC)
  27. Yes Soviet Cyber (talk) 00:24, October 28, 2020 (UTC)
  28. Yes Master Miraak (talk) 13:10, October 28, 2020 (UTC)
  29. Yes MikeRyan (talk) 18:05, October 28, 2020 (UTC)
  30. Yes Even if "vault dweller" is the official name used by Bethesda, referring to them as "Resident" helps alleviate confusion. However, it seems that both terms are used in an official capacity. --Sir Awobbie (talk) 21:25, October 28, 2020 (UTC)



PLEASE NOTE: To be eligible to vote, users must be logged in and have made either one edit or one discussion post/comment prior to voting.

Option 2: Vault Dweller

Change the name of the Fallout 76 player character to Vault Dweller, linked as Vault Dweller (Fallout 76), and stylized within narratives as vault dweller or vault dwellers.

  1. Yes I had a one night stand with a Bethesda developer and they screamed Vault Dweller the entire time. NotAlex123 (talk) 00:03, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  2. Yes It is my understanding that we have documentation of this title being official, along with it being the title used in promotional materials for updates. Great Mara (talk) 00:14, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  3. Yes Thaang (talk) 00:27, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  4. Yes We have information from someone at Bethesda which does confirm this. -Eckserah User Eckserah Head Dataminer 00:30, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  5. Yes It's official after all Believe it or not, Todo isn't at home. Please leave a message at the talk page. I must be out, or I'd pick up the message. Where could I be? Believe it or not, I'm not home. (talk) 00:40, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  6. Yes Preferably uncapitalized. --DirtyBlue929 (talk) 00:41, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  7. Yes - My vote only counts if it's not capitalized. 寧靜 Fox 00:58, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  8. Yes
    FO76 Player Character Designation

    Confirmation from Bethesda spokesperson LadyDevann

    This is the official protagonist name, directly confirmed by Bethesda recently. In addition, the player character explicitly refers to him/herself as such, and it is consistent with existing wiki precedent for player character names.Intrepid359 (talk) 01:04, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  9. Yes Out of these two, this is the best option, but it should also be decapitalized (there is more than one dweller from 76 out in Appalachia, and this is well-established). AllYourFavorites! (talk) 02:00, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  10. Yes I've said my piece on the talk page. Gilpo1 (talk) 04:20, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  11. Yes It’s an SEO nightmare, but it’s one of Bethesda’s making, not ours. Unless we are given more information, we have to work with what we’ve been given. Capitalization and singular vs plural are likely to be the real battleground. The Dyre Wolf (talk) 08:52, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  12. Yes
    FO76 Player Character Designation

    Confirmation from Bethesda spokesperson LadyDevann

    Wiki should follow official designations, rather than invented/fanon ones. "Vault Dweller" should be used to describe the player character(s), while "Vault dweller" should be used to describe non-player characters.
    Axed Scribe-Howard (waster93) (talk) 08:58, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
  13. Yes Coming into this late but after reviewing the information, the Vault Dweller title makes the most sense.--Isis (talk) 17:32, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  14. Yes "Resident" is not only a bit of a boring title for people so important, it's also almost(?) never used. Feels like it's just titled that to be consistent with Vault 81's residents, which doesn't make sense at all. --The Crimson Eagle (talk) 17:47, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  15. Yes Darrowdeo (talk) 22:07, October 22, 2020 (UTC) is what were called in the game
  16. Yes We have official confirmation from a developer over at BGS that Vault Dweller is in fact the canon name of the 76 protagonist. - Chris With no background 23:43, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
  17. Yes If this is the canon name as stated by Bethesda developers, it should be the name used on the wiki. It's as simple as that. Besides, I do not recall "Resident" ever being used in the game. If anything, it's far more generic than Vault Dweller. Sole Survivor was also a "Resident" of multiple places. Sanctuary, Vault 111, Home Plate, etc. Lone Wanderer could also be called a "Resident" of places like Vault 101, Megaton, or Tenpenny Tower. I suppose every single player character in the series could be referred to as a "Resident," see how nondescript it is? If we're going to go with any non-canon, made-up title, we could do a helluva lot better that "Resident." I like Shane's idea of "Reclamationist," since that is neither ambiguous with other protagonists (though context should adequately clear any ambiguity anyways) nor is it so common that such a title could honestly refer to damn near every character in the series. I remember when I first started reading Fallout 76 articles, I kept wondering to myself who the hell Resident was, and even today I find it an extremely awkward title to use. - Sigmund Fraud Talk Contributions 02:30, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
  18. Yes Bethesda calls them Vault Dwellers in all marketing. We reached out to Bethesda and they have confirmed this is indeed the canon name for the player characters. There is no argument against it, a wiki should provide the facts whether or not it’s convenient to do so or more work. Laat the Survivor RangerSequoia (talk) 02:53, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
  19. Yes I'm switching my vote in light of Scribe-Howard's evidence LovinglyGaslight (talk) 06:52, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
  20. Yes Lots of evidence has been laid out for this being the title. solitude Rip my pictures from your walls...tear them down and burn them all... 08:00, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
  21. Yes it's the official calling HoodedUnicorn1
  22. Yes Its a bad name, but its what Bethesda gave us. Have to go with what is canon - even if it sucks. Zusk (talk) 10:14, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
  23. Yes GudyGudy (talk) 18:39, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
  24. Yes To me the protagonists should be refered on the wiki as Vault Dwellers (plural), they're "rebuilding" Appalachia as a group, otherwise the Overseer would've been enough and 76 would've been a solo game. I think it's still fine to refer to one (it could be any) Vault Dweller for solo quests related things "One of the vault dwellers helped the raiders/settlers raiding vault 79"/"One Vault Dweller discovered the old Mistress of Mystery base and rebuilt it with the help of Cryptos". It doesn't need to be specific for these cases.Ltskeim (talk) 04:23, October 23, 2020 (UTC) (Profile updated)
  25. Yes I remember when I first looked up Fallout 76 information on this wiki, I was surprised by the use of "The Resident." I even backtracked to try to understand where this moniker came from, because the game never uses it. It is largely an invention of this wiki. "Vault Dweller" is the confirmed name from Bethesda, and that's the name that should be used. If we are concerned about confusion, we can always hotlink to a page like "Vault Dweller (Fallout 76)" when using this name in a page about Fallout 76.Riomaki (talk) 22:02, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
  26. Yes Ambeeeeee (talk)
  27. Yes If Vault Dweller is the title developers gave the player character, that, IMO, should be the title used here. (With Fallout 76 in parenthesis) The Cat Master (talk) 07:03, October 24, 2020 (UTC)
  28. Yes Vault Dweller is the term used by the player characters in-game and also has official confirmation from the community management team, who are our best link to the Development team for 76. Not using this title would go against what was an intended title for the Player Character given by both the game and official sources. ASeriousGamer (talk) 12:18, October 24, 2020 (UTC)
  29. Yes Chraczil (talk) 15:15, October 24, 2020 (UTC)
  30. Yes Ahozalp (talk) 20:23, October 24, 2020 (UTC)
  31. YesAffluent RR (talk) 04:31, October 25, 2020 (UTC)
  32. Yes I have an affinity for Resident, following a pattern, a tidy routine, differentiating it. But I see Vault Dweller used repetitively, consistently, as the player character name, from before launch, appearing in source texts, in the game itself, and throughout update announcements. The player character is intentionally referred to as Vault Dweller, and regardless of my feelings on it, we should move forward with making the correction. -kdarrow Pickman heart take her for a spin! 12:19, October 25, 2020 (UTC)
  33. Yes I personally dislike the idea of multiple protagonists of different games having the same name and explicitly blame Bethesda for their lazyness regarding the choosen name for the protagonist(s) of 76. However, this vote isn't about personal preferences or user egos. The evidence provided is sufficient. NPCs mostly refer to us as Vault Dweller(s), therefore it is a yes. --FindabairMini-JSPnP LogoThe benefit of the doubt is often doubtful. 12:22, October 25, 2020 (UTC)
  34. Yes ◄► Tephra ◄► 18:14, October 25, 2020 (UTC)
  35. Yes Kermitv94 (talk) 06:26, October 28, 2020 (UTC)
  36. Yes I understand that this might lead to a number of edits being made, but one of these names is supported by the game, and one of them isn't. DSJ20 (talk) 15:37, October 28, 2020 (UTC)
  37. Yes Even if it is going to require some additional work, I think replacing "Resident" with the official, confirmed MC's name will prove to be the right choice in the long run. Akickinthehead (talk) 17:42, October 28, 2020 (UTC)
  38. Yes Establish your authority among vault dwellers with the Vault 76 Military beret. One.pretorius (talk) 18:01, October 28, 2020 (UTC)
  39. Yes If Vault Dweller is how the character is referred to the most often, then we have to go with that. It might be confusing consider the name of the protagonist from Fallout 1, but the goal of the wiki is accuracy. --DisgustingWastelander (talk) 23:20, October 28, 2020 (UTC)

Excluded votes

  1. Yes "The Vault Dweller" is already the name we use for the FO1 player character, while the pages about players themselves could be split with (Fallout 1) and (Fallout 76), it will be less noticeable on pages, and would inevitably cause confusion to uninitiated or new fans of Fallout. LovinglyGaslight (talk) 23:00, October 22, 2020 (UTC) User changed vote.
  2. # Yes Considering everyone else in Appalachia died or left before we came out, we are technically the only native human residents in the area. Plus I like the idea of keeping the main characters easily identifiable by title. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 34.103.83.209 (talkcontribs) 09:33, October 23, 2020. Please sign your posts with ~~~~! User not logged in.
  3. Yes TruthWill0utt (talk) User does not yet meet requirements for voting.
  4. Yes Honestly, since this debate came up, I have been looking into any references for both. Vault Dweller far supersedes all relevancy and the amount of times it’s referenced. The Resident(s) simply doesn’t have much substance to back up it’s use. Sure, the bot at the Charleston DMV calls us Mr/Mrs Resident, but that’s Resident [of Charleston], not Resident [of Vault 76], as we had just given him a letter proving our residence is in Charleston. FalloutFan1986 (talk) 02:07, October 24, 2020 (UTC) User does not yet meet requirements for voting.
  5. YesIt's hard to write a song with bitter fingers (talk) User does not yet meet requirements for voting.
  6. Yes I think Cooler said it best when he said 'yag mi'. The name should stay. Let Fallout 1s legacy remain the way it is without any more interference.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Olrdtg (talkcontribs). Please sign your posts with ~~~~!01:03, October 25, 2020 (UTC) User does not yet meet requirements for voting.
  7. Yes I agree with many of the previously raised points. SunderedShor (talk) 4:38, October 24, 2020 (EST) User does not yet meet requirements for voting.
  8. Yes I think Resident makes more sense and it's also mentioned in the Vault Tec lore, if I'm not mistaken. In theory, I think both terms are correct, so it all comes to personal preferences. SenyraInnov 19:42, October 25, 2020 (UTC) User withdrew vote.
  9. Yes Legobrick10000 (talk) 00:37, October 28, 2020 (UTC) Sockpuppet.
  10. Yes Max Lahnu (talk) 01:10, October 28, 2020 Sockpuppet.
  11. Yes Hunted0Thompson (talk) 01:21, October 28, 2020 (UTC) Sockpuppet.
  12. Yes ShaB1973 (talk) 01:34, October 28, 2020 (UTC) Sockpuppet.
  13. Yes ElfDudeQ. (talk) 02:16, October 28, 2020 (UTC) Sockpuppet.
  14. Yes ServietteRussian (talk) 15:16, October 28, 2020 (UTC) User does not yet meet requirements for voting.
  15. Yes For less confusion MCWWolf359 (talk) User does not yet meet requirements for voting. User voted after poll close.
  16. Yes While I myself would prefer something other than "Vault Dweller" it is what's used officially, and even if we weren't to use the official designation, or were to use a "headcanon" designation "Vault Resident" is still pretty generic. (Reclamationist has a nice ring, but that's neither here nor there.) --EpicestGamer User voted after poll close.

Comments

These should be lowercase, as they do not refer to a singular entity as with the protagonists of the past games. Great Mara (talk) 23:52, October 21, 2020 (UTC)

Since I started the vote already, I thought to leave it as-is. We can discuss it, though, absolutely. -kdarrow Pickman heart take her for a spin! 00:04, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
I don't think there's anything to discuss. Both should be lowercased for the reason Mara provided. Jgrsoto Coat of arms of Puerto Rico 00:07, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
Almost every single location that Vault Dweller(s) or Dweller(s) shows up concerning the player it is capitalized. This includes In The Vaults, which are official Bethesda correspondence, dialogue entries in the game, and the quoted message from devann about it in the talk page of the entry. Every protagonist is capitalized and with that we should keep with the same standard that we have gone by. -Eckserah User Eckserah Head Dataminer 00:19, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
I completely agree. It's always uppercase in the game's dialogue subtitles when an NPC refers to a player character, just as it is in every official Fallout 76 article on Bethesda's website. Proper nouns such as "Blood Eagle" or "Powder Ganger" are very commonly used to refer to multiple characters. Whether there is only one canonical Vault Dweller or several should be left to another discussion. Thaang (talk) 00:27, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
Vault is an in-universe trademarked term by Vault-Tec Industries. For all intents and purposes, Dwellers or dwellers provides no real distinction in reference to the singular canonical protagonist, and would only lend itself to confusion or otherwise misinterpretation on the behalf of the game or developer intention. As such, Resident, as Soto provided in his voting reasoning, is the superior term. JCB2077 (talk) 00:30, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
"Vault Dweller" should be used to describe the player character, while "Vault dweller(s)" should be used to describe non-player characters. Scribe-Howard (talk) 10:39, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
Blood Eagle and Powder Ganger are referring to the name of a group. That is an apples to oranges comparison. Great Mara (talk) 00:31, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
We literally have confirmation from a Beth employee who is the face of the game to the community saying that it is the capitalized version. How can anyone actually argue about that? We do not get to decide if what they say is right or wrong. They own the property and what they say goes. -Eckserah User Eckserah Head Dataminer 00:38, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
I would like to remind you that this is not an official encyclopedia. We are not under any obligations from Beth or whoever the IP holder is to use the official capitalized version. Our obligations are to the reader. It is our job to make things as understandable as possible to our readers and thus we should use the uncapitalized version because it is less confusing. Also, see mara's comment about our capitalization policy. I invite you to familiarize yourself with it. Jgrsoto Coat of arms of Puerto Rico 00:55, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
If you turn on subtitles and walk around a Blood Eagle camp, you will see multiple generic characters with the name of "Blood Eagle". If you talk to an unnamed Powder Ganger in NV, their name will be capitalized, as well. These are just two random examples off the top of my head, but the point has been clearly made, and the same principle applies to Vault Dwellers in FO76. Thaang (talk) 00:45, October 22, 2020 (UTC)

You need to read our capitalization policy. We do not follow the game blindly in such instances. The past protagonists are capitalized to emphasize that they are a singular entity. The player characters made by users in FO76 don't have that distinction. Great Mara (talk) 00:49, October 22, 2020 (UTC)

Mara is correct - the name itself has been confirmed by the developers, but they do not have the power to bypass English conventions. Since we are talking about multiple entities, vault dweller would not be capitalized. This is especially the case since there is no defined protagonist in this group, as the article entails all of the V76 dwellers. 寧靜 Fox 00:58, October 22, 2020 (UTC)

We should just make it "Vault 76 dweller" and leave it at that, tbh. AllYourFavorites! (talk) 01:02, October 22, 2020 (UTC)

We have never been called "Vault 76 dweller(s)" anywhere in the game, official article, or correspondence from Bethesda - not even once. We have consistently been called "Vault Dweller(s)" in all of those areas for nearly two years. Thaang (talk) 01:46, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
We use parenthesis for that purpose (vault dweller (76)) whenever it's necessary to add clarification to our article names. It's not us overriding the developers, it's just what we have to do to make sure that our readers can actually find the content that they're looking for. 寧靜 Fox 01:50, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
I was simply disputing the specific wording of "Vault 76 dweller(s)". I'm aware that parentheses are commonly used to differentiate identical character names from each other. "Vault Dweller (Fallout 76)" is perfectly acceptable, but there is no basis in fact for making it "Vault 76 Dweller(s)". Thaang (talk) 02:14, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
Oh I agree. I was just clarifying - I won't speak for AYF, but I'm under the initial assumption that that's what he meant with what he said. 寧靜 Fox 02:19, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
I like either "Vault Dweller (Fallout 76)" or "Vault 76 dweller." Contextually, I can see a lot of articles reading something like [[Vault Dweller (Fallout 76)|Vault 76 dweller]] anyways. - Sigmund Fraud Talk Contributions 02:33, October 23, 2020 (UTC)

Can we just focus on the terminology right here and the minor debate over capitalization can follow at a later date? NotAlex123 (talk) 01:12, October 22, 2020 (UTC)

I don't see any issue. The vote is still progressing along nicely, and capitalization is ultimately a small detail that needs to be hashed out *before* the vote concludes, and not after. Just keep it polite and respectful, everyone. 寧靜 Fox 01:18, October 22, 2020 (UTC)

When Bethesda confirmed the name, it was presented as "Vault Dweller" (singular, capitalized). Since 99.8% of the story-telling in-game is focused on the single protagonist, and 99.9% of the wiki is presenting the perspective of the singular protagonist, I think we're fine sticking with "Vault Dweller." --Intrepid359 (talk) 01:27, October 22, 2020 (UTC)

There is no singular PC protagonist, as confirmed by Wastelanders. The update confirmed that the PC that you control leaves V76 after many of the major events have already canonically happened, such as the discovery and creation of the Scorched vaccine, and even the completion of the Enclave plot that unlocks nuclear capabilities in Appalachia. Our established policies, as discussed and voted upon by the community, also dictate that we do not follow in-game grammar, and to refer to standardized English conventions instead. 寧靜 Fox 01:38, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
There is conditional narrative depending on what patch you created you character on, however all quests are still completed by the same entity. We do not skip An Ounce of Prevention or Officer on Deck. Scribe-Howard (talk) 10:39, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
This vote is only to determine community consensus on the term. Once we have the term, we can work together to fine-tune it if need be. -kdarrow Pickman heart take her for a spin! 01:29, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
According to those established wiki policies, "If it's not clear whether a name is a proper name or a common one, naming should be discussed and decided on a case-by-case basis." The question of whether there is a singular PC protagonist has no bearing in this case, because Vault Dweller is used a title, like "Overseer" or "Senator", and not a given name for one specific character. The fact is that the vast majority of references to the player character(s) as "Vault Dweller" are capitalized in the game and by Bethesda, themselves. This is not a grammar mistake by the devs or community managers that must be corrected by wiki editors; it's a deliberate title that they've given the player characters. Thaang (talk) 03:31, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
Both of those titles you used as examples should not be capitalized unless directly preceding a proper name... Great Mara (talk) 04:13, October 22, 2020 (UTC)

I like Reclamationist - Chris With no background 05:02, October 22, 2020 (UTC)

I've seen a lot of mention that the wiki uses proper English convention when it comes to capitalization. As a firm believer in evidence-based discussions, I think it would help if we presented reference material. According to proper English convention, a proper name is to be capitalized. Wikipedia has an excellent article on this. A proper name can be either a single unique entity or a group of unique entities. In previous Bethesda Fallout titles, we had the single unique entities known respectively as "Lone Wanderer" and "Sole Survivor." They were (rightfully) capitalized because they qualify as proper names. For example, not all people wandering alone are our unique Lone Wanderer and not all sole survivors are our unique Sole Survivor. The great news is, when we shift from a single unique entity in previous titles to a group of unique entities in Fallout 76... we do nothing different. The rule that applied with previous singular protagonists is no different for plural protagonists. It's that simple. Some have argued that "vault dweller" is a descriptive phrase and must be lowercase. This would not apply to a proper name, because we aren't talking about ALL vault dwellers when we refer to the protagonists of Fallout 76. As the Wikipedia article states, "A proper name may appear to refer by having a descriptive meaning, even though it does not (the Rolling Stones are not stones and do not roll; a woman named Rose is not a flower)." --Intrepid359 (talk) 10:21, October 22, 2020 (UTC)

This section has become increasingly cluttered, so I'm just going to put my response here. In regards to the single piece of alleged evidence, specifically This response, I would like to point out that, as established by 76's own credits, Devann is registered under PR, Marketing and Communications, and is herself listed as Associate Community Manager. That's not to say she's a bad PR person, community manager, or anything of the sort. However, her field of expertise and interaction only goes so far. Simply agreeing with an individual on their opinion based on their own opinion does not validate the matter. In this instance, it's comparable to asking Pete Hines if Wild Wasteland or Fallout 2's Special encounters is canon. To have a valid, reasonable, and otherwise indisputable piece of evidence, one would need to ask, and verify, one of the registered developers credited under the Design credits. Whatever their response, that will be the undeniable fact. JCB2077 (talk) 23:26, October 22, 2020 (UTC)

A reminder to people voting

ContentPolicySpecificInfo

Remember that the policies of the wiki should overwrite any bias you have on things. According to the Fallout Wiki:Content policy the proof that is listed in the talk page discussion should designate what is and isn't allowed in this context.

-Eckserah User Eckserah Head Dataminer 22:11, October 22, 2020 (UTC)

The protagonist name of Resident falls under all of those. JCB2077 (talk) 22:22, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
Try again, but this time with effort NotAlex123 (talk) 22:59, October 22, 2020 (UTC)
I am grateful for the interest in and contribution to the discussion, lets just make sure to please keep the comments as constructive as possible. I will appreciate it a lot. -kdarrow Pickman heart take her for a spin! 23:03, October 22, 2020 (UTC)

But Why??? The Evidence

I'm sure a lot of you are wondering why this even came up. Why would we change the name? Recently, Bethesda explicitly and directly confirmed that the official designation for the Fallout 76 protagonist is "Vault Dweller." The name we currently have, "Resident" was just a stab in the dark... and we missed the mark. Simple as that. As a wiki, it is our obligation (and our policy) to present the game as the developer intended, in an unbiased and verifiable manner. For two years, Bethesda has uniformly referred to the protagonist as Vault Dweller(s) or Dweller(s) in all marketing and communications, just as every other game developer has - think of Master Chief, Pac-Man, Mario/Luigi, and so on. We aren't here to decide what our favorite replacement titles are for the Fallout games, NPCs, locations, and so forth. Voting to choose a fan-fiction protagonist name instead of the official name is a stab to the heart of our credibility and relevance. Thank you for reading.

FO76 Player Character Designation

Confirmation from Bethesda spokesperson LadyDevann

Addendum:

  • For those seeking an in-game source, the player character also identifies the protagonists as "Vault Dwellers" - it is the only self-reference in the game. It's also the most universal and common name used by NPCs to identify the player character.
    FO76 Protagonist Self-Reference

Addendum 2:

  • Coincidentally, Bethesda sells a lineup of protagonist collectibles to give us very clear consistency across the titles! Obviously, we have some very recognizable names here. Notably, Fallout 76 is "Vault Dweller."
Fallout Fallout 3 Fallout 4 Fallout 76
FO1 Player Character
FO3 Player Character
FO4 Player Character
FO76 Player Character

--intrepid359 (talk) 00:39, October 23, 2020 (UTC)

It's based on official in-game Vault-Tec documentation based on a terminal found in the very first location in the game. It's anything but fanfiction, nor is it the "official name". The official name was taken by a 20 year-old man who came out of Vault 13 based on bad luck in a straw drawing, and ended up saving the world from the Master. In every other aspect of documentation, it's just a reference to those who "dwell" in a Vault-Tec "Vault". Hence Vault dweller. To say the official name is the generic descriptor of every person clad in a Vault jumpsuit or having dwelled in any kind of Vault-Tec Vault since the first game might as well be like calling the protagonist a Mario Goomba, or a Bioshock Big Daddy. And once more, Devann is a PR spokesman, not an official Bethesda arbiter of lore, nor a developer/designer who would have the proper expertise on what the actual name is. JCB2077 (talk) 00:45, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
In my line of work, verifiable evidence matters. Fortunately, the wiki's policies are on the same page: "All content needs to be verifiable. Other editors need to be able to check and verify it." Please present evidence showing any Bethesda employee ever directly stating the designation for the Fallout 76 protagonist to support your claim. I'm excited to verify it and discuss further!--Intrepid359 (talk) 01:35, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
The policy also states "All content needs to relate to the games as delivered by the developers; user modifications are not covered by this wiki." So at this current time, a Bethesda Community Manager's word is not in support nor in verification of the claim. The original claim from the start has been in regards to how the game itself refers to the protagonist, not out-of-game sources like articles or employee, not developer, commentary. The only proof that is needed is that of Vault 76 terminal entries#Day to Day Duties. No fanfiction, adaptation, or user modification needed. Simply the verification that the terminal entry very clearly reads as follows: "Your job as the Overseer is to see to the overall health and safety of Vault 76. Avoid loss of life at all costs. The Vault Residents have been carefully chosen for their unique skills and temperament." As this is official in-universe Vault-Tec documentation, verified by a Bethesda developer before shipping, and is intended to be read as-is, there is no arguing that the Vault Resident, otherwise shortened to Resident, is the proper and developer-intended term. JCB2077 (talk) 01:41, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
Interesting! Can you show me which Vault-Tech in-game references have named the protagonist in previous Bethesda Fallout titles? I was under the impression that it was the Bethesda PR, Marketing, and Communications team responsible for all of the PR, marketing, and communications that have previously defined the protagonists. However, I'm happy to review the evidence you have to support your claim that Bethesda's Fallout protagonists are defined exclusively by in-game Vault-Tec terminals.--Intrepid359 (talk) 02:10, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
Shifting from Fallout 76 to all Bethesda titles does not lend support to the claim of changing the name of the protagonist in 76. As 76 handles itself differently than every Fallout game before it, due to being a prequel, the protagonists of their respective games do not have the luxury of being explicitly referred to in in-game documentation. The Lone Wanderer, Courier, and Sole Survivor are protagonists 200+ years after the Vault-Tec Corporation has effectively ceased to exist. As such, official Vault-Tec terminal correspondence and documentation would be the official source of the player character's name, due to being Pre-War individuals. As for the claim of PR, Marketing, and Communications, no, Pete Hines, nor any of the subordinate members of PR, Communications, or Marketing have been those to choose or designate what protagonist is named. That would be the work of the designer or lead developer, such as Todd Howard, Emil, or the lead of the respective games. In addition, I never claimed that the Fallout protagonists are exclusively defined by terminals, simply that, in the context of wiki policy, the claim maintains that "All content needs to relate to the games as delivered by the developers; user modifications are not covered by this wiki." PR, Communications, and Marketing individuals are not developers. While they are part of the development team, they are not the ones responsible for the conceptualizing or designation of player characters. The Vault Dweller and Chosen One were not titles invented by Interplay's PR division, rather, they were invented by those like Brian Fargo and Timothy Cain. In that same vein, Bethesda and Obsidian's player characters would be designated and referred to by Todd Howard, Emil Pagliarulo, Joshua Eric Sawyer, and Mark Tucker/Ferret Baudoin. JCB2077 (talk) 02:24, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
Counter-point: to my knowledge, the player character of Fallout 4 is not referred to as "the Sole Survivor" at any point in the actual game or its DLCs. The capitalized, proper-noun title of "Sole Survivor" was arbitrarily selected by this very wiki, much like Resident, only in the former case we made the decision pre-release based entirely on a single offhanded comment by Todd Howard during the game's E3 reveal ("... you emerge 200 years later as the sole survivor of the vault."). To my knowledge the only place the character is "officially" referred to as "the Sole Survivor" as a proper-noun title is in the marketing and PR, and that only began around the release of Far Harbor, well after we at the wiki had successfully convinced pretty much the entire fandom that it was official, which always gave me the impression that this was just Bethesda's marketing caving in to the fact that this is what the fandom collectively decided the protagonist is called.
In that case, we treated the PR and Marketing assigned name as more official and correct than the in-game titles used for the character - "the Vault Dweller" repeatedly by Diamond City Radio and "Blue" by Piper. So we have two options here - accept your point that Marketing and PR are less official than in-game sources, which would render "Sole Survivor" retroactively in violation of our guidelines, or accept them. I almost said "accept that the most commonly used out-of-universe term trumps", but then I remembered that Resident is used in a grand total of two terminals while Vault Dweller is used ubiquitously in dialogue and terminal entries pre- and post-Wastelanders, so Vault Dweller is also the most commonly-used in-game term too. --DirtyBlue929 (talk) 02:32, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
The fact that distinction of release versus pre-release exists otherwise negates the entire counterpoint of supposedly arbitrary naming. The fact of the matter is that, by policy's sake, "All content needs to relate to the games as delivered by the developers; user modifications are not covered by this wiki." User interpretations, such as that of believing the wiki "convinced" Bethesda to adopt the name, also falls under the category of user modification, as it is a modification of the interpretation of what may or may not have happened, otherwise known as speculation. That being said, as Todd Howard, the lead developer of Fallout 4, mentioned the name in a comment "Sole Survivor", the guidelines perfectly make it acceptable, as he is a Fallout developer who delivered Fallout 4 content by talking about it, in the same vein Joshua Sawyer or Chris Avellone's Formspring or Twitter comments are taken as lore. At the end of the day, the fact remains. The Resident is the verified, arbaited, and otherwise developer-confirmed name of the player character in Fallout 76, regardless of how often or rare it may be used in-game. No different than the lore of Vault 51, or matters regarding the Floaters of Appalachia being the same as those from Mariposa Military Base. JCB2077 (talk) 02:46, October 23, 2020 (UTC)

I've skimmed the above, mostly because of time constraints. I do believe that we should have the generic player character referenced as what their official generic title is. If that is indeed "Vault Dweller" 1) We (the wiki) need to make up a standardized reference for when we need to clarify the name as "Vault Dweller." 2) We should differentiate the difference with "A Vault Dweller" in the references, as there is no "The" player character in Fallout 76, unlike the original Fallout.

The next question would be what we have to do about the generic "Vault dweller (Fallout 76)" page. We are probably going to have to pluralize it.--Ant2242 (talk) 05:40, October 23, 2020 (UTC)

The vote isn't due to end for another 6 days. Although today is the day of the Great War, let's not be the Chinese, setting off the war prematurely due to some potential squabble over an uncertain future event. That is to say, there should be just as much preparation (if not continuing with current policies and standardizations) for the Resident. And as there is only one singular canonical protagonist, the second question's answer would be to keep it singular. JCB2077 (talk) 05:48, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
I would be remiss not to point out we don't know who started the Great War. -kdarrow Pickman heart take her for a spin! 14:03, October 23, 2020 (UTC)

Context of the Discussion

It is unfortunate that the vote was presented without displaying why both options are relevant, relying on a talk page link to do the leg work, because there is a significant disparity in usage of the terms by Bethesda. And judging by the split vote, with few members having actually seen or participated in the talk page discussion, maybe proceeding straight to a vote does the whole conversation a disservice.

To back things up just a little and reiterate somethings which are core to the conversation, but maybe lost in the sea of replies to the talk page conversation.

Resident

The term resident is pulled from an two early game terminals in Vault 76, the Overseer's terminal and the security terminal. It is used specifically as the phrase "Vault Residents" 3 times by the overseer and once by the security terminal, and it is used with no caps as "residents" 4 times by the overseer and once by the security terminal. By itself, a capitalized use of "Residents" is never seen, so at the very least "Residents" would not be as correct as "Vault Residents" which actually appears as a label. As best I can tell, however, no one addresses the player either in game or out of game (through marketing material or new feeds) as resident.

If the concern is that dweller is just a generic term for someone who originated from a Vault, it should be noted “resident” is not a unique term as it was used in F76. We see it appear at least one game prior in F4 when used to refer to the generic NPCs inhabiting Vault 81.

Vault Dweller

The claim for Vault Dweller is based, most recently, on the communication with with a Bethesda CM, where the question was asked what the 76 equivalent to "Lone Wanderer" and "Sole Survivor" is, and the clear cut answer given was "Vault Dweller."

Beginning even in pre-release official reveal page from Bethesda introduces the characters as Vault Dwellers. On its own, perhaps nondescript, since we know it to be a generic term; however, it's use in continued marketing and new releases, aimed at the players but referring to them as Vault Dwellers is much more relevant. This is not an exhaustive list, but just examples that have already been linked around a few times.

FALLOUT 76: WASTELANDERS UPDATE NOTES – APRIL 14, 2020:

"It’s been a year since the door to Vault 76 rolled open on Reclamation Day. A lot has changed in Appalachia since you and other Vault Dwellers began rebuilding. There are many new people to meet and things to discover as you continue your adventures." Note, it does not say since you and the other Residents began rebuilding.

Inside the Vault, PUBLIC TEAMS OVERVIEW & FASNACHT STATS:

"Hey there, Vault Dwellers! We have some exciting updates to share with you this week, including the addition of Multi-Factor Authentication for Fallout 76." Note, it explicitly addresses the reader as Vault Dwellers, not Residents.

Inside the Vault, MEET DUCHESS AND MORT:

Whether you’re a new Dweller stumbling out of the cozy confines of Vault 76 for the first time, or an experienced Wasteland explorer, you may want to stop by the Vault to meet Lacey and Isela." Note, it addresses the reader (or potential player) as Dweller, not Resident.

FALLOUT 76: INSIDE THE VAULT – INTRODUCING THE 2020 ROADMAP & 76 SEASONS:

During the coming months, we have a lot of big improvements in store for the game that we can’t wait to share with you, including: A major rebalancing of combat and rewards across Appalachia for Dwellers of all levels" Note, it says the changes coming for Dwellers of all levels, not Residents.

In fact, after a considerable amount of browsing both blogs and interviews, I have yet to see Residents used as the name given to the protagonists or referred to as seen in any of the examples above. This wiki is the only place where the term is used in such a way.

What should most definitely not be taken into consideration as any sort of a valid argument is that the tenure of an incorrect fan designation is somehow acceptable at face value because for the sake wiki convenience. "Cause it's been that way" is not evidence to disprove the validity of the term Vault Dwellers. And It is not our place to decide how much or how little work needs doing. That's on Bethesda, and we have to live with what they decide.

And if the stance that the Bethesda community managers' word cannot be trusted, that they are not real employees capable of speaking with any sort of authority, perhaps we ought to codify that so they are ignored consistently in the future. Prior to this discussion, when a CM advised on the canonicity of Creation Club, there was no protest to the CM as a source of information, on a decision which would have been considerably more significant than an article name. It certainly seems odd that it was no issue then, but is an issue now. So deciding if we, a wiki, are the real authority, not the people hired by Bethesda to manage community interactions, then it really should be something we are up front about. The Dyre Wolf (talk) 16:43, October 23, 2020 (UTC)

In response to the point made on Residents, Vault 81 and Vault 76 are two different Vaults. In Vault-Tec documentation, Vault Residents, otherwise shortened to residents, would be the proper frame of reference. For F4, the only actual given lore or stance on Vault 81 resident is what the game describes them as when a player places their cursor over them, which is not an indicator of lore or real conflict with the principle of the matter. In response to the matter of CMs, community managers can say totally different things on the same manner, in the same vein developers could. In that same regard to Creation Club, a CM pointed out almost the exact same thing as Emil would later point out. That Creation Club is made to fit with the lore of the universe it's made in (with certain exceptions), be it Fallout or Elder Scrolls. In the opposite spectrum, a former CM said that, because Creation Club has cross promotional content, it's not canon in any way whatsoever. In this same instance, hypothetically or not, people are going to have different interpretations, be they wiki janitors, Bethesda community managers, and Bethesda developers themselves. The point made was not to say that they cannot be trusted at all, or that they can't be relied upon for garnering information, the point was that their knowledge and personal opinions factor in just as their connections to the higher-ups at Bethesda, creating potential conflicts if their recorded interactions with the developers are not verified or otherwise cited, as many emails and developer interactions have been in the past via email and photograph. The end goal is to put the word of the developers as objectively and factually as possible, without relying on those that are tasked with managing community interactions, not so much dictating the current, previous, and future lore of the series. JCB2077 (talk) 20:21, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
I feel obligated to politely point out at this point that it is not your place to say who can or cannot speak for Bethesda. Additionally, as recently as a couple of days ago, you didn't understand what a Community Manager was, nor were you aware that they are employees of Bethesda. They, in fact, do talk to the rest of the development team on a daily basis and are, in fact, authorized spokespeople for Bethesda. --Intrepid359 (talk) 21:09, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
I would also like to point out that it is incorrect to say the inhabitants of Vault 81 are only referred to as residents via the HUD, and they are, in a similar manner to the terminal entry in Vault 76, called residents in the terminal entries. Browsing several of the Vault's terminal pages across the series, it is common for Vaults refer to their inhabitants as residents at least once. So as I said, the term resident is not highly specific or unique to F76. Meaning its use as the term for the protagonist, without consideration for the actual term Bethesda has consistently used, is without basis. Resident was a solid guess when there was little evidence to the contrary and the page had to be named something but with the benefit of hindsight and new information, it is no different to calling the protagonists of 76 "citizen" or "cream of the crop" just because those are terms used to refer to the inhabitants in a few terminals, which, as was stated above, are only accessible for a brief moment at the introduction of the game. It's not reoccurring outside of the Vault and it's not present in the marketing material. The Dyre Wolf (talk) 03:10, October 26, 2020 (UTC)
The only similarity is the use of the word "resident." As the discussion has also brought up the matter of capitalization, it's also important to note that the only time "Resident" is used in Vault 81 is at the beginning of a sentence, where Vault Resident, or otherwise "Ressies" in Vault 76 is not. So no, "resident" (lowercase) is not unique or rare, however, "Resident" is. Just as "dweller" is also commonly used as a reference to Vault Dwellers/dwellers, as is has been since the first game, and as such, made a distinction between Vault Dweller (F1 protagonist) and Vault dweller (person dwelling in a Vault), of which F1 and 2 make very clear, especially in reference to actually talking to Vault 13 dwellers, who are called citizens in F1/2, while the Vault Dweller is specifically referred to as the "Vault Dweller". That being said, to say Resident is only a "guess" completely removes the meaning of developer-vetted content in Vault 76, the starting location of the game, to go for a title later used through the game. In that same vein, it would be if a Fallout protagonist was given any number of titles, and commonly referred to by them. For example, if the contract given to the player by Doc Mitchell or the notation given to the Sole Survivor or Lone Wanderer was later removed because they were called "mailman" (Courier), "Kid from 101" (Lone Wanderer), and "Blue/Vault Dweller" (Sole Survivor) more times than they were called their actual name. It doesn't have to reoccur outside the given location or be constantly used in promotional material to apply to them regardless. Otherwise we could say anything about any given starting area, lore or otherwise, is completely meaningless because you'll either never return there, or never return there often, for it to matter, be it Vault 13's cave, Arroyo and the Temple of Trials, Vault 101, Goodsprings, or Vault 111. JCB2077 (talk) 03:37, October 26, 2020 (UTC)

(The use of resident is specifically what was being cited, after you had said resident was not used in a context of Vault 81 outside of the HUD, a gameplay specific feature. Which is incorrect. Capitalization is important (if it remains Resident, as I mentioned above it should be changed to Vault Resident), but keeping in mind the same terminals in 76 capitalize every Vault Tec specific term such as "Vault Doors," "All-Clear Message," or "Vault-Tec's Reclamation Procedure." This in mind, there is no significance to Vault Residents as it is consistent the use of caps when referring to other Vault Tec terms. It is not indicative of special case or usage specific for the occupants. Your comparison of the term Vault Resident to Vault Dweller is not wrong; however, it is actually a point in favor of Dweller, since the most significant differentiating factor between the two is that Dweller has been consistently used by Bethesda as the term to refer to the player character. Dweller was the term given to use when asked for clarification, not Resident.

Resident was a guess. We, the wiki, guessed it. Do you actually have any evidence that shows someone from Bethesda, either directly as has been seen with Dweller or with use in marketing as has been seen with Dweller, used Resident in the manner in which we have? Because there is link after link to information from Bethesda, who use Dweller and not Resident. So, please end this entire argument by simply showing where Resident was told to us, to the Vault, or any other Fallout community, rather than being assumed by the wiki. Because Bethesda did not come to edit the wiki and give us that term. Wiki users named that page Resident because the wiki needed a name, and it was a guess. If you need assistance, I can link you to the definition of "guess" if it is a foreign term, but as adamant as you are, I would hope you actually have something of substance to share, which can add to the conversation, not just the same reference to the terminals from which a name was inferred by the community. (An inference is a guess, not evidence, just in case that's not clear.)

But there is no "meaning of developer-vetted content" in this conversation. If that's the metric you choose, then weigh two terminals against the rest of the game, which uses Dweller. Sole Survivor, Lone Wander, and Courier are all what the Bethesda and Obsidian have referred to the characters as. If you are suggesting that we call the characters what they are actually referred to as? Sounds good to me. Welcome to voting in favor of Dweller, the term actually used by Bethesda and not chosen by the community. Saying otherwise, without the slightest bit of evidence, not just conjecture or opinion, is just being contrarian at this point. The Dyre Wolf (talk) 05:07, October 26, 2020 (UTC)

Gameplay specific feature or lore matter, the point remains that Vault 81 resident is A. Uncapitalized, and B. Has been proven to be no sort of lore-indicator of any merit or worth in this discussion. On the note of capitalization, the point of it being Vault-Tec related is a supporter of our official Vault-Tec Corporation designation, in the same way the Courier is registered as an employee of the Mojave Express, or the Chosen One is a prophesized Chosen One. It is otherwise incredibly indicative of special case and specific Vault-Tec Corporation usage. And regardless of how many times it has or will be used for the protagonist, Dweller was the term given by a non-developer of Bethesda. When I say that, I don't mean that they weren't credited on a list of names on a credits screen, I say that they had no hand, merit, or actual decision, nor expertise, in what title was or is to be used, and in-game evidence or actual developer (designer or writer) commentary is needed.
Resident is not a guess, it is an in-game term utilized by the Vault-Tec Corporation. Policy dictates that in-game evidence is of priority, not to mention that of the recent canon revision, placing in-game comments over developer commentary in regards to canon. I have shown multiple times here that the term is used precisely in Vault 76 terminal entries#. One can have link after link, but all it takes is one. A guess would be Sole Survivor, whom some have called into question due to it only being Todd Howard to utilize the name. Here, we have in-game information on a terminal entry directly giving us the name of the protagonist in the first 10 minutes of the game, no different than reading the note Doc Mitchell gives the protagonist.
To take a page out of the words said by other users regarding a certain situation involving Vault 51 and computerized simulated reality scenarios, as said by the lead developer of 76, all of 76's locations and lore is vetted by the developers. Unless there is evidence saying otherwise by a developer in a similar potion, then the position of Vault 76's lore officially labelling the protagonist as a Resident is just as verified as a terminal entry recorded in 2108 conflicting with the multiple instances of 2102. Although I am suggesting calling the players what they are referred as, I am calling them Residents, and have voted as such, and will maintain my position until the end of the vote. I have voted with evidence, and with proper authority and detailings. JCB2077 (talk) 05:42, October 26, 2020 (UTC)
The terminal does not, in fact, state anything about the official designation for the protagonist. You are assuming that. It confirms only one thing: that Vault-Tec refers to the residents of Vault 76 as "Vault Residents." No, more, no less. Treating it as if the terminal "confirmed" the name of the protagonist is a logical fallacy. The only time the protagonist ever refers to the player characters in the game, they are called "Vault Dwellers." The one person in-game that would know the protagonist designation is the protagonist. Intrepid359 (talk) 06:13, October 26, 2020 (UTC)
Has been proven to be no sort of lore-indicator of any merit? A proclamation made by you, JCB, just now, with nothing to dispute it, except that it counters your earlier incorrect claim that resident was used in previous games as a part of the HUD alone. Making one thing up to counter something else you are wrong about is not evidence or proof or even a discussion. Bethesda uses Dweller, the wiki uses Resident. Are we on board for fan designations or not? Because only one of those two options is Bethesda. If you would like to counter the argument for Dweller, the best thing to do would be to have evidence which proves
The point of it being Vault Tec related is that all the Vault Tec specific terms in that terminal are given caps. The treatment of Vault Residents is not specific or unique, just part of the pattern of overall capitalization on the terminals. It is indicative of nothing and is not a special case because it is applied across those terminal entries to all sorts of Vault Tec terms, which Vault Residents is but one of, not the sole recipient of.
"Guess"
Estimate or suppose (something) without sufficient information to be sure of being correct.
When you say a near one off term seen only briefly and never again used in such a manner, preferred instead to a completely different term, is evidence of something, you are guessing. And at the time the page was made, it was a good guess. A+ for effort. Bethesda did not come down from on high to name that page for the wiki, it was editors who came up with that name, and guessing was all they could do. That guess has since stuck, within out community at the very least, but that's it. Give something to actually counter Dwellers, otherwise, ya got nothing and have shown nothing. Damn sure not evidence of anything. The Dyre Wolf (talk) 06:44, October 26, 2020 (UTC)

Vault Dweller vs. Vault dweller

FO76 Skeleton V76

Skeletonized V76 dweller as seen at The Pigsty

We should not use the lowercase because we have this guy: --->
Axed Scribe-Howard (waster93) (talk) 18:25, October 23, 2020 (UTC)

No. "Vault Dweller" is a proper name when describing the specific group of Fallout 76 player charaters, and can be plural or singular. The existence of a non-protagonist dweller does not suddenly make all protagonists cease to be protagonists. For example, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a group of protagonists. The existence of a non-protagonist turtle doesn't rob them of their protagonist status. Hope that helps! --Intrepid359 (talk) 20:59, October 23, 2020 (UTC)
Exactly. While all evidence points towards using the "Vault Dweller(s)", this solidifies that some Vault 76 dwellers are not player characters. If we use the "Vault dweller(s)", where do we put this skeleton or the Vault 94 ambassadors?
Axed Scribe-Howard (waster93) (talk) 06:04, October 25, 2020 (UTC)
The Fallout 76 protagonist has a dialog line referring to player characters as "Vault Dwellers." At the same time, the protagonist also refers to a non-player character from Vault 76 (the Overseer) as a "vault dweller." You are correct that only the protagonists are capitalized, and we have clear examples of both. --Intrepid359 (talk) 12:28, October 25, 2020 (UTC)
Circumstantial evidence points towards the use of an otherwise incredibly generic title of any living humanoid being or group that lives or otherwise dwells in a Vault-Tec Vault. For skeletons of those from Vault 51 (the corpses

who once wore the charred jumpsuits on the Wasteland Loveseat) or those from Vault 94, they would go under their respective pages, such as "Vault 94 Ambassadors", as the Ambassador Program was a vote undertaken by Vault 94, while "Vault 51 dwellers" would go under "Vault 51 dweller". JCB2077 (talk) 19:17, October 24, 2020 (UTC)

Vault Dweller, as defined in the glossary of terms, is a generic description of An inhabitant of a Vault-Tec Industries Vault. Vault Dweller is also the proper name of the Fallout 1 protagonist. Dwellers is plural, Dweller is singular. JCB2077 (talk) 21:02, October 23, 2020 (UTC)

( I'm just seeing Vault 94 ambassador corpse moved to Vault dweller (Fallout 76). This doesn't really help to solve the confusion if Resident (Vault 76) gets renamed to Vault Dweller (Fallout 76) now, does it...? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jspoelstra (talkcontribs). Please sign your posts with ~~~~!

I only did this because they're named Vault dwellers in-game. It's better to hold off on any renames until this vote is concluded. The page was originally called "Vault dweller (Fallout 76)," then got moved in the middle of this vote, so I set it back to its original name. If the vote passes and "Vault dweller/Dweller" becomes the name, we could move that page to "Vault 94 ambassador corpse" or, maybe more accurately, "Vault dweller (Vault 94)." Doesn't matter which. AllYourFavorites! (talk) 15:21, October 25, 2020 (UTC)

Result

Vault 76 resident has 30 votes, Vault Dweller 39, a clear difference. Therefore Vault Dweller will be our Fallout 76 protagonist. I'll ask a trusted bot user to makes the changes! 18:45, 9 November 2020 (UTC)

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