Steward elections complete, awaiting results

After elections for new stewards ended last week, the Board of Trustees endorsed the results of the elections, and appointed all users who finished with at least 80% support, adding twelve new stewards:

1. Spacebirdy, 100.0%
2. Jusjih, 98.6%
3. .anaconda, 98.0%
4. Dungodung, 98.0%
5. Wpedzich, 96.6%
6. Thogo, 96.3%
7. Lar, 94.8%
8. Zirland, 94.6%
9. Millosh, 94.7%
10. Andre Engels, 93.8%
11. DerHexer, 81.2%
12. Nick1915, 80.2%

Meanwhile, confirmation of current stewards is complete, and discussion between stewards is ongoing as to whether some of the stewards should retain their status. As of press time, it appears that Ausir, Romihaitza, Snowdog, and Suisui will not be confirmed due to inactivity, and Datrio and Fantasy resigned their stewardship voluntarily prior to these discussions. Sj's reconfirmation is close, with stewards evenly split as to whether Sj should be reconfirmed. Sixteen of the remaining 23 stewards will definitely retain stewardship, with no objections from the community, and it appears that the other seven will be reconfirmed as well.

Jimbo Wales testifies before U.S. Senate Committee, touts wikis

On December 11th, Jimbo Wales testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in a hearing titled "E-Government 2.0: Improving Innovation, Collaboration and Access". Wales' testimony (PDF) is available, and video of the hearing, including a question-and-answer session with Wales, is available.

Fundraiser continues

The Wikimedia Foundation fundraiser continued this week. Nearly sixty-five days into the fundraiser, about 40,500 people have donated at least US$1, and the Foundation has raised about $1,310,000.

A new fundraising site was introduced this week; the design highlights a Wikipedian's story, what the money is used for, and simplifies the donation form significantly. The effects of such a site on donations have yet to be seen.

Donations on December 25 (Christmas) (228 donations, totaling $8,015.20) reached a fundraiser low; however, a series of large donations were received in the last week, including $4,000 from Brooke Burgess (with comment "Ubermind, Inc."), a €1,000 ($1,439.80) donation from an anonymous contributor, $1,024 from frequent contributor Jeff Moe, and $1,000 donations from Lawrence Lessig, Robert D. Hall and Ana F. Barreto, and two anonymous contributors.

Ironing board joke reported by German periodicals, President

A joke inserted into the German Wikipedia's article on the 1989 European Competition for Women's Football was unwittingly reported by multiple German newspapers and magazines, and subsequently mentioned by the President of Germany, Horst Köhler. The joke revolves around the gifts received by the German champions of the competition, who received a coffee set as part of their prizes. On September 10, the joke was embellished, with the addition of an ironing board to their "prizes". After the German team's victory in the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the ironing board was subsequently reported in various German sources, including a syndicated article by Frank Hellmann, which was published on various German websites, including that of top periodical Der Spiegel ( [1]). It was later referenced in a speech by Bundespräsident Köhler. The false information was removed on December 17.

Wikimania 2009 bidding continues

Wikimania 2009 bidding continued this week; one more bid was submitted this week: Kathmandu, Nepal. This joins two other official bids: Bogotá and Toronto. New bids will be open until January 12, at which time the jury will be announced. Bids already created will be open until February 3, when bidding will end, and deliberations will begin. On or before February 20, the host city for Wikimania 2009 will be announced to the public.

Briefly

• A poll is ongoing to find featured portal director(s). It is set to close on December 31.
• On Tuesday, January 8, editor and administrator Jonathan Hochman will give a lecture ( "Wikipedia & Social Media") at the Tumblebrook Country Club in Bloomfield, Connecticut. The event will run from 6:30-9 p.m. The cost is $45 per person, but those who register before December 31st can save $10; the price includes dinner and cocktails.
• After ballooning to over 100,000 articles thanks to massive bot activity, the Lombard Wikipedia has shrunk to below 25,000 articles.
• The German Wikibooks has reached 10,000 modules. They now have 569 Books, 40 of which are "ready".
• The Japanese Wikipedia has reached 450,000 articles.
• The Bulgarian Wikipedia has reached 50,000 articles.
• The Tagalog Wikipedia has reached 15,000 articles.
• The Tahitian Wikipedia has reached 500 articles.
• The Aromanian Wikipedia has reached 2,000 articles.
• The Cherokee Wikipedia has reached 200 articles.