Talk:Milkman

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TRADITIONALLY MALE? O RLY?

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[edit] Prone to theft?

Is this really a big problem? My family have had milk delivered since I can remember (30 years) and I think we may have had *one* bottle go missing in all that time! 86.132.137.65 05:34, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

I've deleted the bit about the transestite because it is completely irrelevant. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.160.147.205 (talk) 03:30, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Name of this article

"Milk Roundsperson"? Does anybody ever call these people this? WP:MOS says to use the most common name. And regardless, the "R" in "Roundsperson" should be lower case. Corvus cornixtalk 23:14, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Corvus cornixtalk 23:17, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

The following discussion is an archived discussion of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the proposal was move###. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 18:37, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Requested move

Milk Roundsperson → Milkman — "Milk Roundsperson" is not the common name for this occupation. A check of Google comes up with very few hits for this title. "Milkman" or even "Milk deliverer", if you wish, is much more common. —Corvus cornixtalk 23:19, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Survey

Feel free to state your position on the renaming proposal by beginning a new line in this section with *'''Support''' or *'''Oppose''', then sign your comment with ~~~~. Since polling is not a substitute for discussion, please explain your reasons, taking into account Wikipedia's naming conventions.
  • Oppose. Wikipedia should always try to use gender-neutral language. Georgia guy (talk) 00:23, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

The three comments below were copied from WP:RM, where they were misplaced.

  • support - I would refer to a female deliverer of milk as a "milkman". This may change in the English language in the future, but so far it hasn't changed. --Gronky (talk) 00:21, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
  • Support - We should use the words that people use, not the words we think people ought to use. The Drama Llama (talk) 00:39, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
  • Support. Naming convention is the most used English name, not the most politically correct. Also, the current title is discriminatory against square milkmen. --erachima formerly tjstrf 00:42, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
  • Support We should not retain sexist terms which have been pruned, nor should we invent substitutes faster than English does. We are not a crystal ball. Septentrionalis PMAnderson 05:31, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
  • Support. Milk Roundsperson is not in any of my dictionaries, dictionary.com, or OED. Wikipedia can't be used to invent words. Sam Staton (talk) 07:59, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
    Comment. Two-word phrases are usually in dictionaries only if they have meanings of their own independent of the meanings of the individual words. Georgia guy (talk) 13:34, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
    But roundsperson would be listed, at least in the OED, if it occurred. Septentrionalis PMAnderson 13:42, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
  • AFAIK, there's been no decision to always use gender-neutral language in preference to terms which are far more frequently used. I have never heard the current title in use, and would not even immediately associate it with the profession. Milkman is overwhelmingly common usage. Knepflerle (talk) 11:47, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Discussion

Any additional comments:

Are there any Wikipedians who are opponents of gender-neutral language in English (not just at Wikipedia)??

Gender-neutral language? Of course not. This particular term, however, is not in even remotely common parlance, so the article should be put back where it belongs at Milkman. --erachima formerly tjstrf 00:56, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.