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<h1>My internship with the FSF tech team and beyond</h1>
<p>by <a href="https://bndl.org"><b>bandali</b></a>
on December 18, 2020 <small>(also
in <a href="fsf-internship-beyond.txt">plain text</a>)</small></p>

<p class="box">Originally published on the Free Software Foundation's
sysadmin blog:<br/>
<a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/my-internship-with-the-fsf-tech-team-and-beyond">My internship with the FSF tech team and beyond</a></p>

<p>Hello!  I'm
<a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/introducing-bandali-intern-with-the-fsf-tech-team">Amin Bandali</a>,
and this is my second blog post on the FSF sysadmin blog, concluding
my internship with the FSF tech team this year.</p>

<p>Throughout my internship with the tech team, I have worked mainly
on sysadmin tasks related to setting up and/or managing FSF's
GNU/Linux servers.  Perhaps most significantly, I set up an instance
of the <a href="https://sourcehut.org">Sourcehut</a> forge software to
help
<a href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/FSF_2020_forge_evaluation">evaluate</a>
it as a candidate for the upcoming
<a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/coming-soon-a-new-site-for-fully-free-collaboration">FSF forge project</a>.
I documented the installation and setup process of Sourcehut's various
components in the form of a literate GNU Emacs Org-mode file, where
source blocks are interspersed with comments and prose explaining
them.  One can then progressively evaluate and execute the source
blocks, and optionally have their results stored back in the Org file
itself to help with documentation/demonstration.</p>

<p>I have also been slowly working on various improvements for the
server running www.gnu.org, and will continue doing work on it as a
volunteer after the end of my internship.  This will hopefully be
beneficial to the FSF sysadmins running the server, the GNU webmasters
who do webmastering work on gnu.org, and the general public browsing
and using gnu.org's pages.  Notably, changes included upgrading the
server to the latest release of Trisquel GNU/Linux, and revamping and
improving the search mechanism for gnu.org's pages.  Additionally,
there are several other projects that I would like to tackle with the
tech team in the near future.</p>

<p>During my internship with the FSF tech team, I picked up a variety
of new skills and learned more about a diverse set of topics and
tools.  This included building and installing a complex piece of
software like Sourcehut and debugging issues encountered along the
way, using Ansible for managing and deploying infrastructure, as well
as learning more about the Exim mail transfer agent used to run FSF
and GNU's array of mail servers.</p>

<p>In conclusion to my internship and the year 2020, it's safe to say
that this year has been an eventful year for many people, including
myself.  I started my internship with the tech team back in May, and
as a graduate student at the time, I was expecting a reasonable and
balanced workload for my work on my thesis over the coming months.
However, early on (less than two weeks) into my internship I learned
that due to a number of reasons, I needed to complete my master's
studies on a two-month deadline.  I told the tech team about the
issue, asking whether I could take a hiatus to complete my studies
without affecting my internship.  I am beyond thankful to the tech
team and the FSF as whole for being accommodating, and for their
flexibility in allowing me to take a leave to focus on writing my
thesis and wrapping up my master's studies.  I managed to successfully
wrap up my studies in that short timeline, and focus on my internship
afterwards.</p>

<p>However, all good things must come to an end, and this internship
is no exception.  I am incredibly grateful to the members of the FSF
tech team -- Ian, Andrew, Ruben, and Michael -- for welcoming me to
the team as an intern and mentoring me, answering my many questions,
and helping me learn more.  It has been an honour and a wonderful
experience for me all around working with you all and seeing the
energy and passion with which you take on the work and
responsibilities that come with being an FSF sysadmin and Web
developer.  While most of my interactions were with the tech team, I
also got to interact with FSF staffers from several other teams during
my internship, and I'm thankful for our conversations and the chance
to get to know and appreciate the important work you do.</p>

<p>This internship has come to an end, but I will carry with me all of
the good memories and the lessons I learned along the way, and will
happily to continue working with you as a volunteer.  The things I
learned have been invaluable and greatly helpful to me, as I
transitioned into my new full-time job at Savoir-faire Linux as a Free
Software Consultant, where I get to work on various parts and aspects
of Jami, a GNU package for universal communication which respects the
freedoms and privacy of its users.</p>

<p>I would like to thank the FSF for providing me this excellent
opportunity to work alongside the tech team as an intern, and take
away so many valuable lessons and great memories.</p>

<p class="box">Interested in interning for the Free Software
Foundation?  The application period for spring 2021 internships is
currently open.  Please see
<a href="https://www.fsf.org/volunteer/internships">https://www.fsf.org/volunteer/internships</a>
for more details and information on how to apply!</p>

<hr />
<details id="copy">
<summary>Copyright &copy; 2020 bandali</summary>
<p>Copying and distribution of this file, with or without
modification, are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the
copyright notice and this notice are preserved.  This file is offered
as-is, without any warranty.</p>
</details>
</body>
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	4	<meta charset="utf-8" />
	5	<meta name="author" content="bandali" />
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	7	<title>My internship with the FSF tech team and beyond — bandali</title>
	8	<link rel="canonical" href="https://bndl.org/fsf-internship-beyond.html" />
	9	<link rel="alternate" href="fsf-internship-beyond.txt" title="plain text" type="text/plain" />
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	40	<body>
	41	<h1>My internship with the FSF tech team and beyond</h1>
	42	<p>by <a href="https://bndl.org"><b>bandali</b></a>
	43	on December 18, 2020 <small>(also
	44	in <a href="fsf-internship-beyond.txt">plain text</a>)</small></p>
4c4f1c99 AB	45
	46	<p class="box">Originally published on the Free Software Foundation's
	47	sysadmin blog:<br/>
7b376474	48	<a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/my-internship-with-the-fsf-tech-team-and-beyond">My internship with the FSF tech team and beyond</a></p>
4c4f1c99 AB	49
	50	<p>Hello! I'm
	51	<a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/introducing-bandali-intern-with-the-fsf-tech-team">Amin Bandali</a>,
	52	and this is my second blog post on the FSF sysadmin blog, concluding
	53	my internship with the FSF tech team this year.</p>
	54
	55	<p>Throughout my internship with the tech team, I have worked mainly
	56	on sysadmin tasks related to setting up and/or managing FSF's
	57	GNU/Linux servers. Perhaps most significantly, I set up an instance
	58	of the <a href="https://sourcehut.org">Sourcehut</a> forge software to
	59	help
	60	<a href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/FSF_2020_forge_evaluation">evaluate</a>
	61	it as a candidate for the upcoming
	62	<a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/coming-soon-a-new-site-for-fully-free-collaboration">FSF forge project</a>.
	63	I documented the installation and setup process of Sourcehut's various
	64	components in the form of a literate GNU Emacs Org-mode file, where
	65	source blocks are interspersed with comments and prose explaining
	66	them. One can then progressively evaluate and execute the source
	67	blocks, and optionally have their results stored back in the Org file
	68	itself to help with documentation/demonstration.</p>
	69
	70	<p>I have also been slowly working on various improvements for the
	71	server running www.gnu.org, and will continue doing work on it as a
	72	volunteer after the end of my internship. This will hopefully be
	73	beneficial to the FSF sysadmins running the server, the GNU webmasters
	74	who do webmastering work on gnu.org, and the general public browsing
	75	and using gnu.org's pages. Notably, changes included upgrading the
	76	server to the latest release of Trisquel GNU/Linux, and revamping and
	77	improving the search mechanism for gnu.org's pages. Additionally,
	78	there are several other projects that I would like to tackle with the
	79	tech team in the near future.</p>
	80
	81	<p>During my internship with the FSF tech team, I picked up a variety
	82	of new skills and learned more about a diverse set of topics and
	83	tools. This included building and installing a complex piece of
	84	software like Sourcehut and debugging issues encountered along the
	85	way, using Ansible for managing and deploying infrastructure, as well
	86	as learning more about the Exim mail transfer agent used to run FSF
	87	and GNU's array of mail servers.</p>
	88
	89	<p>In conclusion to my internship and the year 2020, it's safe to say
	90	that this year has been an eventful year for many people, including
	91	myself. I started my internship with the tech team back in May, and
	92	as a graduate student at the time, I was expecting a reasonable and
	93	balanced workload for my work on my thesis over the coming months.
	94	However, early on (less than two weeks) into my internship I learned
	95	that due to a number of reasons, I needed to complete my master's
	96	studies on a two-month deadline. I told the tech team about the
	97	issue, asking whether I could take a hiatus to complete my studies
	98	without affecting my internship. I am beyond thankful to the tech
	99	team and the FSF as whole for being accommodating, and for their
	100	flexibility in allowing me to take a leave to focus on writing my
	101	thesis and wrapping up my master's studies. I managed to successfully
	102	wrap up my studies in that short timeline, and focus on my internship
	103	afterwards.</p>
	104
	105	<p>However, all good things must come to an end, and this internship
	106	is no exception. I am incredibly grateful to the members of the FSF
	107	tech team -- Ian, Andrew, Ruben, and Michael -- for welcoming me to
	108	the team as an intern and mentoring me, answering my many questions,
	109	and helping me learn more. It has been an honour and a wonderful
	110	experience for me all around working with you all and seeing the
	111	energy and passion with which you take on the work and
	112	responsibilities that come with being an FSF sysadmin and Web
113	developer. While most of my interactions were with the tech team, I
114	also got to interact with FSF staffers from several other teams during
115	my internship, and I'm thankful for our conversations and the chance
116	to get to know and appreciate the important work you do.</p>
117
118	<p>This internship has come to an end, but I will carry with me all of
119	the good memories and the lessons I learned along the way, and will
120	happily to continue working with you as a volunteer. The things I
121	learned have been invaluable and greatly helpful to me, as I
122	transitioned into my new full-time job at Savoir-faire Linux as a Free
123	Software Consultant, where I get to work on various parts and aspects
124	of Jami, a GNU package for universal communication which respects the
125	freedoms and privacy of its users.</p>
126
127	<p>I would like to thank the FSF for providing me this excellent
128	opportunity to work alongside the tech team as an intern, and take
129	away so many valuable lessons and great memories.</p>
130
131	<p class="box">Interested in interning for the Free Software
132	Foundation? The application period for spring 2021 internships is
133	currently open. Please see
134	<a href="https://www.fsf.org/volunteer/internships">https://www.fsf.org/volunteer/internships</a>
135	for more details and information on how to apply!</p>
136
7b376474 AB	137	<hr />
	138	<details id="copy">
	139	<summary>Copyright © 2020 bandali</summary>
	140	<p>Copying and distribution of this file, with or without
	141	modification, are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the
	142	copyright notice and this notice are preserved. This file is offered
	143	as-is, without any warranty.</p>
	144	</details>
	145	</body>
	146	</html>