I don't see how the new name "have nothing to do" with the trope. Vanilla is a common descriptor for "plain", and that's what this trope is about. "Designated", as someone had earlier mentioned, sounds like "is supposed to be, but not actually is" - which attracts complaining (also, if we use the dictionary's definition, to designate is to appoint, which have even less to do with this trope, because every single protagonist is probably assigned the role by the creator).
Shall we now YKTTW a Chocolate Protagonist and a Strawberry Protagonist? :)
"But considering that First-Person Peripheral Narrator isn't exactly limited to First Person narrative either"
Just to clear up a misconceptions, this trope is in fact strictly limited to First Person narration. It is a narration trope, not a character trope. If you see it used or described any other way, it is probably misuse left over from before we had a TRS thread to fix it and rename it from The Ishmael.
edited 28th Jul '14 9:33:43 AM by Catbert
Would a Vanilla Protagonist count as a Sturgeon's Trope? Vanilla Protagonist can be used correctly, but often times you wish that a supporting character was the protagonist instead of the Vanilla Protagonist.
edited 28th Aug '14 10:35:33 AM by SatoshiBakura
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Tropes Are Tools. Just because there is subjective opinions on whether or not the trope is good/bad, doesn't mean that the trope itself is an Audience Reaction.
There's too much of a chance for bitching with a trope like this. When I was updating the name, I saw it used in the same sense as Mary Sue, Spotlight-Stealing Squad and The Scrappy. It should stay in the YMMV for that reason.
Crown Description:
The trope attracts too much complaining about "Protagonists some tropers don't like"

Go ahead. I have no problem with that tweak.