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Commons:Categories for discussion/2019/07/Category:BT Group telephone boxes

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Category:BT Group telephone boxes

[edit]

Sub-categories need to be tidied; they include:

We should standardise on one suffix; I suggest "kiosks‎" is proper in British English. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 19:13, 28 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with this, "kiosks‎" is what BT called them so probably the best term. Users have changed odd categories to the suffix they prefer but no one has until now looked at the whole category tree Oxyman (talk) 19:23, 28 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry to be a party pooper but I prefer "boxes" - EN currently has the article at Red telephone box and most people I assume would call these "telephone boxes" ? (Booths sounds more american) ... Up until now I thought a kiosk was this .... I'm still living in the 90's apparently... –Davey2010Talk 20:50, 28 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
FWIW BT use both Kiosk and phone box (although kiosk is used a bit more) and various news sources use phone boxes, Barely ever visited London and we don't have these down here so they may indeed be called kiosks by everyone but as sources appear to use boxes more I'm still siding with it. –Davey2010Talk 01:54, 29 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]
In Britain, the preferred term is "kiosk", according to their operator, and I believe we should in general respect self-naming. Structurally, they are boxes, but conventionally they are kiosks. "Booths", I think refers to a sort of mostly open structure with little protection from the elements. Rodhullandemu (talk) 23:49, 28 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I do think there is a case for changing Category:Telephone booths in the United Kingdom and it's subcats to "boxes" and treating this category as a subcat of that Oxyman (talk) 13:15, 30 July 2019 (UTC)[reply]

There's Category:Telephone booths by country too, so this looks like one of those Commons attempts to standardise international naming, to the detriment of almost everyone. Andy Dingley (talk) 11:58, 30 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]
  • I'd far rather prefer "telephone boxes", which is surely the common name in the UK. I've never heard them refered to as 'kiosks', presumably this is simply a marketing term used by BT, unless anyone can find strong evidence of its wider usage. Sionk (talk) 15:07, 17 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • Common use is definitely boxes, even if BT prefers kiosks. It's certainly not booths though. Secretlondon (talk) 19:34, 18 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Generally the ommon name in the UK is definitely "telephone boxes", I would strongly support the general UK categories using this name. I've bought ice cream from a kiosk, but never gone to e telephone kiosk to make a call. However, if the design type of a specific booth is a "K6 telephone kiosk" etc. I've no great problem with these sub categories being named as such. They'll only be found by telephone box nerds though. Sionk (talk) 18:39, 6 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Commons:Village_pump#Telephone_box/kiosk/booth_categories_in_the_UK Andy Dingley (talk) 12:56, 15 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
  • Thanks Andy Dingley. I hadn't seen this conversation before and (apart from one test move) I haven't actually started a "mass rename". I'm a "box" man personally, but "booth" seems to be the international name; that said, I'll happily go with the consensus. My focus is mainly on listed buildings (many K6 phone boxes are listed) and I merely noticed that the UK cats seem to vary widely. I'm not trying to impose my preference, but they ought to be consistent. Dave.Dunford (talk) 13:00, 15 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Why should they be consistent? How wide a scope should this invented consistency be applied to?
The policy here is a piece on the category page that was added, opposed, by one editor in order to bludgeon an edit war. It carries no weight whatsoever.
Consistency should not be imposed any further than it exists IRL. So it's reasonable to find some nationally consistent term ('box' seems obvious) and impose that across the content for that whole country. But it's not useful in any way to start imposing that any further than it is a credible term. So 'booth' doesn't work for phone boxes in the UK, even if the USA wants to use it. Nor do we use 'fuhrerstand' for the driving position of a vehicle, as the category policy says that we must. Andy Dingley (talk) 13:05, 15 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Easy, tiger. WP:AGF. I'm not spoiling for a fight. I'm British, I don't much like "booth" either, but – like all Brits – I know what it means, and since all the "Telephone booths in <county>" categories use it, it seemed sensible to adopt that convention elsewhere. I didn't know about this conversation, I didn't realise people had such strong feelings, and I'm not about to start renaming anything without consensus. If the consensus is that (below Category:Telephone booths in the United Kingdom) the categories should all refer to "boxes" or "kiosks" then that's fine by me (though I think that the top-level category should be consistent with its siblings at Category:Telephone booths by country, so I'd broadly support "booth" there). But the current situation is a mess and this conversation appears to have been going on for 7 years without reaching a conclusion or anybody doing anything about it. When I come across an uncategorised photo of a phone box, it would be nice not to have to go diving into the category tree to find out what personal preference has been applied in that particular case. Personally, I prefer consistency over chaos, even if the consistently used term isn't the one I'd have chosen. Dave.Dunford (talk) 13:23, 15 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
It's ridiculous that the same photo of the same telephone box can end up in Category:Telephone booths in Wiltshire, Category:K6 telephone kiosks in Wiltshire and Category:Grade II listed telephone boxes in Wiltshire. I genuinely don't care what term is chosen, but it really would make life easier if I didn't have to remember/negotiate this nonsense every time I come across an uncategorised photo of a telephone box. Dave.Dunford (talk) 13:31, 15 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
I've moved Category:RAC telephone booths back to Category:RAC telephone boxes. TBH that was only a test move anyway, to try out a tool that had been recommended. Now what? Dave.Dunford (talk) 13:46, 15 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]
Sorry, this isn't aimed at you, just at the regular, constant, push to rename categories into the 'correct' 'international' version of the name.
I'd suggest 'box' as the UK COMMONNAME. Maybe 'kiosk' if the type is qualified as the K2 / K6 etc. (it is after all, what the K stood for). But 'booth' is the one I'd oppose. Andy Dingley (talk) 14:53, 15 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks Andy. That seems like progress. I don't share your antipathy towards "booths" – we all know what it means and I'm perhaps not so parochial about terminology as some – but there does appear to be general support above for avoiding "booths" in a UK context, and perhaps a slight preference for "boxes" over "kiosks". So...should it be:

I prefer the former ("boxes" throughout) for simplicity and consistency, but I can see the argument for the latter, even though it means that we'll end up with Category:K6 telephone kiosks in the United Kingdom as a subcat of Category:Telephone boxes in the United Kingdom. Anything is better than the current mess. Dave.Dunford (talk) 16:01, 15 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@Pigsonthewing: @Oxyman: @Davey2010: @Rodhullandemu: @Andy Dingley: @Sionk: I'm going to start renaming all categories below Category:Telephone booths in the United Kingdom to use "boxes" from tomorrow. Speak now or forever hold your peace. Dave.Dunford (talk) 08:58, 16 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Fixed I think I'm finished. I left Category:Telephone booths in the United Kingdom as is, for consistency with its sibling categories in Category:Telephone booths by country, and I didn't rename any categories for individual listed boxes (which mostly refer to "kiosks", to match the corresponding records in the heritage lists). Dave.Dunford (talk) 14:27, 17 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

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