2012 has come and gone, and we have accomplished many incredible things together. Our little corner of the Internet has changed the way people teach and share information with their peers. This has become a place to share the interests you are passionate about — a place to get better what you do, and you do it all with a bit of fun and humor and a chance to show off a bit on occasion.
But the biggest motivation that drives what we do is a sense of purpose — a sense that we are all doing something really important here. Stack Exchange isn't created from the hard work of one individual. It takes the collective effort of much larger community working together. That's why we take this time of year to remember why we are here. This is the time we set aside to give back to the community. It has been a tradition at Stack Exchange to make a $100 donation to charity on behalf of each community moderator. When the invitations are sent, watching the outpouring of charity selections come racing back in real time is breathtaking. Within hours, hundreds of moderators already selected their charity wishes. That kind of outpouring of support is something we can all feel good about. So... on behalf of the 304 moderators of Stack Exchange, we will be making the the following donations to charity this holiday season:
- The Humane Society — $2,700
- The Red Cross (Sandy Relief) — $3,600
- Wikimedia Foundation — $6,800
- Electronic Frontier Foundation — $6,900
- Doctors Without Borders — $10,400
And to these projects that we use extensively and helped us build our own network of websites:
- HAProxy — $1,000
- OpenSTV — $1,000
- DotNetOpenAuth — $1,000
So here's to 2012. Here's to the moderators who volunteer their time, their passion, and their leadership to keep these sites humming. Here's to the incredibly talented team at Stack Exchange who keeps the gears running and the lights on. And here's to you — the communities who have worked so hard to become part of this shared vision. You are truly the best in the world at what you do. Farewell, 2012. Welcome, 2013!