• Traffic report: Google Doodlebugs bust the block
  The numbers this week are beyond anything that has been seen since this report began. The top view count beats the average by an order of magnitude. Usually the appearance of numbers this big on the list is due to spamming, but in this case it seems they are due to honest interest; more specifically, Google Doodles, which for the first time claimed all five top slots. This column has raised numerous times the power of a Google Doodle to shine light on Wikipedia, but the wattage has never been as high as this.

• Featured content: 1244 Chinese handscroll leads nine-strong picture contingent
  Five articles, two lists, one topic, and nine pictures were promoted to 'featured' status on the English Wikipedia last week.

• Special report: FDC staff raise the benchmarks for activities, impact, planning, and governance
  The supporting staff of the Wikimedia Foundation’s powerful volunteer Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) have released their assessments for the third half-yearly round of funding applications. The applications for the newly named annual plan grants were submitted by affiliated entities on 1 October, and comprise a total of more than US$5M in bids.

• News and notes: Trademark at issue again with the Italian Wikipedia and wikipedia.it
  The Italian-language Wikipedia community has overwhelmingly voted to request the Wikimedia Foundation's assistance in recovering wikipedia.it, a website that has been frequently confused with the Italian Wikipedia.

• WikiProject report: The world of soap operas
  This week, we followed the intricate storylines of WikiProject Soap Operas.

• Discussion report: Commas, Draft namespace proposal, education updates, and more
  Current discussions on the English Wikipedia include...