Talk:2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes

Latest comment: 7 years ago by Carcharoth in topic Table of postboxes and images

With or without space edit

There is a mixture of postbox and post box in the article we should standardise on one form or other. Keith D (talk) 19:28, 24 August 2012 (UTC)Reply

Our own article seems to prefer "post box" for Brit Eng... The Rambling Man (talk) 19:34, 24 August 2012 (UTC)Reply
As do Royal Mail [1] - Basement12 (T.C) 20:14, 24 August 2012 (UTC)Reply
Made consistent. The Rambling Man (talk) 20:18, 24 August 2012 (UTC)Reply

United Kingdom edit

Carl Hester has a box painted in Sark which is not in the United Kingdom.--Egghead06 (talk) 05:52, 25 August 2012 (UTC)Reply

Not Royal Mail either... The Rambling Man (talk) 10:18, 25 August 2012 (UTC)Reply
The same is true for Peter Kennaugh's box on the Isle of Man - Basement12 (T.C) 15:47, 25 August 2012 (UTC)Reply
Noted in the lead now. The Rambling Man (talk) 16:00, 25 August 2012 (UTC)Reply

GeoGroup labels edit

The labels in the coordinates templates do not display on the GeoGroup / Google map. Does anybody know how to fix the syntax ? e.g. ..{.{.coord|50.758|N|1.538|W|display=inline|Name=Ben Ainslie}.} ..Thanks Chienlit (talk) 14:03, 27 August 2012 (UTC)Reply

The {.{ GeoGroup }.} data at Wikimedia Toolserver only appears to be updated every weekend. Does anybody know how to trigger an immediate update/refresh to show the latest changes? Thanks again Chienlit (talk) 14:03, 27 August 2012 (UTC)Reply

Lead split edit

It may be a bit early but I've split the lead because we've already got items that really aren't (a) in the UK and (b) by the Royal Mail. We've got vandalised items, we've got groups of medal winners with a gold box. And then. more importantly, we're about to head into the Paralympics so all things being equal, the lead will get out of hand. I hope you all understand why I've I done what I've done, and continue to support the development of a really nice, niche list. The Rambling Man (talk) 18:00, 27 August 2012 (UTC)Reply

I may be very wrong but I thought they weren't doing these for the Paralympics. I definately remember something about the stamps.Blethering Scot 18:35, 27 August 2012 (UTC)Reply
I'll just slap myself. Hasn't read the article as recently as it was updated. Sorry.Blethering Scot 18:38, 27 August 2012 (UTC)Reply
Nae bother. I think Royal Mail did a massive u-turn. So perhaps some suggestions here as to how we restructure would be good. The Rambling Man (talk) 18:43, 27 August 2012 (UTC)Reply
Splitting it is sensible, I've changed one of the headings as not all the unofficial boxes were gold. I wonder if, given the number of medalists we are likely to have, we may need to have a separate article for the Paralympic boxes? It would be nice to keep them together and if we do we'll need to rethink the title (see the section below) - Basement12 (T.C) 21:44, 27 August 2012 (UTC)Reply

Title edit

Personally I think the title is not great, at the very least it is too long. Then, as explained above, this article covers locations outside just the United Kingdom. Plus if they do the same for the Paralympics then the Olympics part will be wrong, and the article discusses post boxes that a) aren't gold (i.e. the 'unofficial' ones) and b) weren't just for 2012 (like the one in Henley). So all in all the title is pretty inaccurate... I don't know what to change it to, perhaps just Olympic post boxes would work. It's not fantastic, but I think it needs to be changed.--23230 talk 21:24, 27 August 2012 (UTC)Reply

I tend to agree, but until we can agree on the content we should hold off unnecessary page moves. The Rambling Man (talk) 11:30, 28 August 2012 (UTC)Reply
We can of course wait a while but the essential facts are here now. Because it is most unlikely there will ever be more Olympic gold post boxes, once the paralympics are over, there seems little need for the title to contain the year which is well stated in the prose. However the use of United Kingdom in the title is misleading specifically because it was Team GB who competed and for whom the post boxes were painted gold. All competitors for whom the post boxes were painted competed for Team GB; there was no Team UK, which was a controversial name choice, but the United Kingdom, per se, did not compete on the 2012 Olympics. Medalists from Northern Ireland did not compete for Team GB but for Ireland by their own choice. My initial rename suggestion is Olympic gold post boxes in Great Britain and if there are paralympic gold post boxes then we would need to include that which would of course lengthen the title again. Perhaps an even shorter simpler rename could be Gold post boxes in Great Britain; the lede explains what they were for. ww2censor (talk) 14:09, 31 August 2012 (UTC)Reply
Sorry, but that is totally wrong. The name Team GB is controversial, but that is because it covers the entire United Kingdom and in fact beyond, NOT just Great Britain. The debate is clearly defined at Team GB and Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Your proposed title would be incorrect, as it happens there were no Northern Irish gold medal winners in the Olympics so they don't get a postbox but there were plenty from outside Great Britain, specifically on the Isle of Man and Sark in the Channel Islands. There were British competitors from other overseas territories such as Gibraltar, if they had won a medal then there would probably have been a golden postbox there.
Northern Irish athletes have the choice to compete for Team GB or Ireland correct, due to the complex dual citizenship arrangements there, but saying Medalists from Northern Ireland did not compete for Team GB but for Ireland by their own choice is absurd and frankly ignorant, people from Northern Ireland won 5 medals in total [2], though no golds, and there were others from Belfast who chose to compete for Ireland. There is nothing saying, and in fact it is pretty possible, that there won't be a Northern Irish gold medallist from the Paralympics.
So yes, what you say about Northern Ireland is just wrong and your proposed title is incorrect, but as incorrect as the existing one since the article already covers areas outside both the United Kingdom and Great Britain.--23230 talk 14:34, 31 August 2012 (UTC)Reply

Requested move 1 edit

The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: moved to 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes. There is wide agreement that the Paralympics should be included and that "in the United Kingdom" is unnecessary. Editors can continue to discuss whether "Summer" (or the year) is necessary or not. DrKiernan (talk) 18:03, 6 October 2012 (UTC)Reply



2012 Olympics gold post boxes in the United Kingdom2012 Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes in the United Kingdom – - this lists the post boxes dedicated to both Olympians and Paralympians. Simply south...... eating shoes for just 6 years 19:40, 7 September 2012 (UTC)Reply

I've pointed out the name issue above, but I would strongly support moving it to 2012 Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes if we are going to move it, dropping the in the United Kingdom bit. There's no reason to keep that since no other country has done anything similar, so keeping the country in the title is unnecessary lengthening it and the article makes it perfectly clear what country the post boxes are in.--23230 talk 10:47, 8 September 2012 (UTC)Reply
Agreed, it's not "in the United Kingdom". The Rambling Man (talk) 10:57, 8 September 2012 (UTC)Reply
I would even suggest dropping the 2012 as this has not happened before, so there is no need to differentiate it from any other year, It is pretty unlikely to happen again, at which time we could revisit the issue if necessary. Both post boxes and the Olympics have been around for over 100 years already and this is the first occasion such a thing has happened. ww2censor (talk) 16:07, 8 September 2012 (UTC)Reply
I oppose dropping the 2012 part as this event was to commemorate both the 2012 Summer Olympics and and 2012 Summer Paralympics specifically. In fact "Summer" is needed in the name as well. Simply south...... eating shoes for just 6 years 20:29, 8 September 2012 (UTC)Reply
So is it "2012 Olympics and Parlaympics Great Britain Team gold post boxes"? What is it? The Rambling Man (talk) 20:47, 8 September 2012 (UTC)Reply
I wasn't meaning that. I was only referring to the events, not the teams. Simply south...... eating shoes for just 6 years 21:27, 8 September 2012 (UTC)Reply
I would say Summer is very unnecessary, since there weren't any Winter Olympics in 2012. The reason it's used in the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics articles is to maintain consistency to when there used to be Summer and Winter games in the same year (e.g. 1924 Summer Olympics and 1924 Winter Olympics), so saying 1924 Olympics is ambiguous, saying 2012 Olympics is not.
I would also oppose dropping the 2012 from the title, firstly to me the argument stated seems to work against it; Both post boxes and the Olympics have been around for over 100 years already and this is the first occasion such a thing has happened to me reads like an argument for including the date since it could have occurred in the past. Secondly the date is a major point ot the article, it is not a coincidence that this has occurred in 2012 because of the location of the games i.e. that's the reason there's no 2008 Olympics gold post boxes, the fact they are specifically related to the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics as opposed to any other, which is what would be implied by having the title as just Olympics and Parlaympics gold post boxes or similar.
I would continue to support 2012 Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes - reasonably short and to the point whilst still informing the reader of the topic of the article. London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Team GB gold medal winner's gold post boxes might be the ultimate informative title but it is rather impractical, no?--23230 talk 22:15, 8 September 2012 (UTC)Reply

Will the Post Office do the same for future games, I wonder? If so, will we create separate articles, or expand this one? Perhaps rename this one to Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes (dropping UK, as it also includes mention of the boxes in channel islands commemorating team GB members), being prepared to rename it to "2012 ...." if boxes are painted gold for any future games. PamD 23:00, 8 September 2012 (UTC)Reply

Support rename to 2012 Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes. There is no need for the United Kingdom but i think 2012 should be included. Blethering Scot 00:39, 9 September 2012 (UTC)Reply
Support rename to 2012 Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes. Chienlit (talk) 06:00, 10 September 2012 (UTC)Reply
Yeah, I'm okay with that too, assuming nobody is aware of any other nations doing the same thing of course!! The Rambling Man (talk) 07:25, 10 September 2012 (UTC)Reply
Support 2012 Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes. I'd be against dropping the 2012 - Basement12 (T.C) 09:09, 10 September 2012 (UTC)Reply
It's a good general principle to use the minimum number of words necessary to disambiguate an article. WP:Article titles says that titles should be recognisable, concise, natural, precise and consistent. So I'd start with Gold post boxes and work from there. It currently redirects to this article - are there any other gold post boxes that the 2012 ones could be confused with? If not, I'd keep it simple. If it's repeated at future Games, then we can just have 2012 Gold post boxes, 2016 Gold post boxes and so on. Other possible solutions to the GB/UK problem are "British" or "Royal Mail" (with a note that some other postal administrations connected with Team GB followed suit). Le Deluge (talk) 20:50, 19 September 2012 (UTC)Reply
Dropping '2012 Olympics and Paralympics' breaks your own stated WP:Article titles rules - it is neither precise nor consistent. Every major event adheres to '2012' 'US Open ...' etc. Chienlit (talk) 05:52, 20 September 2012 (UTC)Reply

It is equally precise - there are no other gold post boxes they could be confused with - and more concise. Therefore it's a better name. A postbox is not a "major event", and there's no other commemorative postbox articles to be consistent with, so the consistency argument isn't really relevant here. Le Deluge (talk) 09:24, 21 September 2012 (UTC)Reply

I'm personally coming round to just Gold post boxes though I'm not fully convinced - I'll see what the consensus is. However I think there is total agreement that the name of this article at the moment is pretty bad, so I would strongly support an immediate move to 2012 Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes (the most agreed suggestion, and a logical continuation from the current title) and then start a further discussion on whether to shorten it any more. If I knew how to I would do it myself, there is pretty clear consensus to add and Paralympics and remove in the United Kingdom, any further suggestions would require more discussion.--23230 talk 10:18, 21 September 2012 (UTC)Reply
The current page has several hundred reader visits each day. The 'Gold post boxes' page has several reader visits each day, never even double figures. I suggest that is because the title is not consistent with reader expectations - the overwhelming context is the 2012 Olympic and Paralymic games. Chienlit (talk) 16:32, 24 September 2012 (UTC)Reply
Well if the overwhelming context is the Paralympics, then how does that work, they're not even mentioned in the current title? The reason most readers come here is that they come via Google and Wiki search, which come to the actual article page based on the content within it, whatever it's called. If it was renamed to Gold-painted crocodiles that article title would see the most hits. Are you seriously saying that hundreds of people are typing in "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Olympics_gold_post_boxes_in_the_United_Kingdom" to their browser address bar? Come off it.Le Deluge (talk) 13:38, 26 September 2012 (UTC)Reply
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Athletes who competed for Ireland edit

Royal Mail has now painted three boxes for Paralympic athletes born in Northern Ireland who won gold medals for the Irish team ([3], [4]). I've added some prose in the Paralympian section and have added them to the list as well; at the moment I've differentiated the three by highlighting them green but there's probably a better system for doing so. They're also currently missing the coordinates as their exact locations aren't on the Royal Mail map ([5]). - Basement12 (T.C) 12:06, 19 September 2012 (UTC)Reply

Hannah Cockroft edit

They have announced the location of second gold post box for Hannah Cockroft see here. Keith D (talk) 16:44, 19 September 2012 (UTC)Reply

Done. Thanks. Chienlit (talk) 05:44, 20 September 2012 (UTC)Reply

Gallery edit

I was vivid when I noticed someone had dismissed all of my hard work on building up a gallery of all the Post boxes and their locations on this page. I have returned it to the page and also added links to the places where they are located. I think it is very important that there is a gallery with as many of the post boxes as possible on the page.(MOTORAL1987 (talk) 09:04, 18 October 2012 (UTC))Reply

Did you mean livid? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.94.137.1 (talk) 12:53, 30 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
How about making an "image" column within the table and putting the images in there, rather than having a huge gallery at the bottom......? -- ChrisTheDude (talk) 16:27, 5 December 2012 (UTC)Reply
Sounds like a good idea, something like in this page List of Somerset towers maybe? I've just put the photos in the gallery into alphabetical order as they didn't seem to be in any discernable order: linking them the actual medallists in the tables makes much more sense. Stronach (talk) 12:53, 19 December 2012 (UTC)Reply

Colour of post boxes edit

The introduciotion says: It marked the first occasion in modern times that the colour of post boxes in the United Kingdom had been changed from their traditional red. Is this correct (or otherwise confusing) regarding to all the existing colours? See: Category:Post boxes in the United Kingdom by colour Sander.v.Ginkel (talk) 15:11, 29 April 2013 (UTC)Reply

Table of postboxes and images edit

I came here looking for a table of post boxes with images of each one. I eventually found it at Commons here. Is there a reason why a table like that is not in this article? Carcharoth (talk) 13:52, 8 August 2016 (UTC)Reply