I read the lore. The game itself is only half the fun. The Fallout universe is the other half.

Where is the both option?

Did it get eaten by the Oblivion Gate? bliviongate:

The difference is, in your terms, Ausir is Dante's translator - So I should darn well hope he knows what Dante said.

I do read some stuff on the wiki from time to time since I enjoy the Fallout setting a great deal (one of the best post apocalyptic settings out there in my opinion). However I think it's better to play the games themselves to get the full back story instead of relying on the wiki. As others have pointed out the wiki is subject to fan interpretation, and of course biases. Ausir as much as I respect the man for his dedication to the Fallout lore is no less biased than anyone else, and even if he was he couldn't possibly be expected to know about and be able to fix every little questionable detail on the wiki.

I've seen a lot of articles on the wiki that seem to include a bit of "fanon" in their contents, and some of the information is flat out incorrect so I wouldn't encourage anyone to take all of the wiki's information as gospel.

One nitpick I have concerning the wiki is how it splits stuff up into different articles depending on the game. I mean seriously, T-51b Power Armor is T-51b Power Armor no matter whether it's in Fallout 1, Fallout 2, Fallout 3 or New Vegas. Splitting the T-51b into numerous small articles depending on the game its in needlessly bloats the wiki and makes it more annoying than it should be to find information.

No, I don't.

I form my own opinions. Obviously, I am open to discussing my opinions online (hence posting in this forum); however, I don't just want to sit around reading other people's opinions all day. Besides, I'm time limited and have to pick and choose where I spend my free time. I have had more spare time recently and was looking something up when I came across these forums and decided to take a look. In the near future, that may change and I may disappear.

I'd rather learn hands-on than read about folklore. But the wiki does help sometimes.

Yeah, you don't understand the concept of word of dante. Compare the information in the Bible to what dante wrote in Inferno. Inferno's description of hell is a bunch of crap. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WordOfDante To sum it up. Word of Dante is not the word of god. Word of Dante is not necessarily true. It's just that people assume it's true. Word of God is the word of the developers. Word of Dante would be Ausir claiming something about the setting. In other words, Ausir would be dante.

FO3 is my second Fallout game (I started with Fallout Tactics), and I like to read the background and history that Bethesda created. It makes the games feel more immersive when I play them, and less like a generic post-apocalyptic shoot-'em up.

Surely then, in this anology Ausir's word is perhaps closer to the word of Gabriel. God gave the message to Gabriel, and Gabriel pased it on. The Devs (at the time Interplay) gave Ausir the message directly (source of the speech files), and he passed it on (in polish).

My point still stands, that The best sources are word of bethesda, and primary source material. Ausir and anyone else is neither. Ausir may have done translation, but in that case he is the equivalent of someone who read everything in the game.

... There is no both because the question is "Do you read up on the wikia".
It's either Yes or No.
And if you're a fallout fan then of course you play the game(s).


Opinions?
The wikia as far as I understand is written about facts.
It's all told from an objective standpoint.


So just cause you don't trust Ausir because of your time with UESP means everything on the cakewikia is a lie.

I play the game, then read up on Wikies the questions that have remained unanswered ;P

No one said everything on the wiki is a lie. My entire point has been it shouldn't be trusted completely. Stop beating on the straw.

I've beaten the first two games, so I occasionally read the Wiki for [linkable] details about them. I have not made but two PC's in FO3, and none raised above 8th level, so I do not generally poke around the FO3 section of the wiki.

*Side note: I don't think I've noticed this part of the forum before. Someone mentioned "Fallout Universe" and I looked, and there it was.

the same thing usually happens with The lore and general TES sections and community discussion.

I read up on the different groups past history although I'll beat the game before doing that.

Just while I'm here, there's a bit of a debate on the Wiki about some upcoming changes and a potential move. Even if you're just a casual user it might be worth conributing:
http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Forum:Wikia%27s_New_Look

I do. In fact, I am the editor that put up the page for the all the possible endings for Fallout 2 and the one that wrote many of the pages about the NCR.

I started by playing Fallout 3, then I started reading up on the information about the other game in the series on the wiki until I find a copy of the older games myself. That I become an editor.

It is a really good website that gives you a basic overview of the things in the Fallout universe for those that didn't discover everything themselves or didn't play the older games.

After having played and loved Fallout 3, I read up on a lot of things over at the Vault. The history, the people, the places, the monsters... it was all highly interesting.

I read up on Fallout Lore constantly, I wish they would release an official Fallout Bible with pictures, etc. I'd love to have a nice book about the Fallout world that fleshes out details, straightens out the timeline and officially confirms canon.

Also, the Fallout wiki is a really good resource for new comers on the Fallout series now that New Vegas is coming out.

They can read up on the factions that were first introduced in the older games and will be appearing in NV instead of asking silly questions like 'Who are the NCR? Are the good or evil?''

It is also a good place for people interested in getting a more in depth look at some of the things in the game.

Was new to the series in FO3, last game I played the game through on my todd then read stuff up on the 2nd play through as they came up. Will probs do a similar thing this time around. Also the poll will be a bit redundant seeing as only the more hardcoe players will bother reading this forum.

I can't help it that some forum users decide to join to make 30 posts then leave.
Their choice.
The poll stays.
Only hardcoe players read this part then so be it.

When I actually have time to do it, definitely. :] For anything other than FO3, it gives me far more information than I would know otherwise-and even with FO3, I notice I learn things that I missed in the game. Or realize I didn't comprehend references I might have seen. I doubt I'll ever read EVERYTHING, but it's still kind of fun to learn about how FO1, FO2, and the other games of the Fallout series worked and what their storyline was.

And if someone discusses something I don't know, then yes, I'd check the wiki. As it's foolish to respond to something with a totally BS answer, or to ask questions completely unnecessary. Typically I only need to do such, however, outside of FO3 discussion.

I love reading into the backstory and everything else the fallout wiki offers.