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1 | My internship with the FSF tech team and beyond |
2 | by bandali on December 18, 2020 (2020-12-18) | |
3 | ||
4 | ||
5 | Originally published on the Free Software Foundation's sysadmin | |
6 | blog: | |
7 | https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/my-internship-with-the-fsf-tech-team-and-beyond | |
8 | ||
9 | Hello! I'm Amin Bandali, and this is my second blog post on the FSF | |
10 | sysadmin blog, concluding my internship with the FSF tech team this | |
11 | year. | |
12 | ||
13 | Throughout my internship with the tech team, I have worked mainly on | |
14 | sysadmin tasks related to setting up and/or managing FSF's GNU/Linux | |
15 | servers. Perhaps most significantly, I set up an instance of the | |
16 | Sourcehut[1] forge software to help evaluate[2] it as a candidate | |
17 | for the upcoming FSF forge project[3]. I documented the installation | |
18 | and setup process of Sourcehut's various components in the form of a | |
19 | literate GNU Emacs Org-mode file, where source blocks are interspersed | |
20 | with comments and prose explaining them. One can then progressively | |
21 | evaluate and execute the source blocks, and optionally have their | |
22 | results stored back in the Org file itself to help with | |
23 | documentation/demonstration. | |
24 | ||
25 | [1] https://sourcehut.org | |
26 | [2] https://libreplanet.org/wiki/FSF_2020_forge_evaluation | |
27 | [3] https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/coming-soon-a-new-site-for-fully-free-collaboration | |
28 | ||
29 | I have also been slowly working on various improvements for the server | |
30 | running www.gnu.org, and will continue doing work on it as a volunteer | |
31 | after the end of my internship. This will hopefully be beneficial to | |
32 | the FSF sysadmins running the server, the GNU webmasters who do | |
33 | webmastering work on gnu.org, and the general public browsing and | |
34 | using gnu.org's pages. Notably, changes included upgrading the server | |
35 | to the latest release of Trisquel GNU/Linux, and revamping and | |
36 | improving the search mechanism for gnu.org's pages. Additionally, | |
37 | there are several other projects that I would like to tackle with the | |
38 | tech team in the near future. | |
39 | ||
40 | During my internship with the FSF tech team, I picked up a variety of | |
41 | new skills and learned more about a diverse set of topics and tools. | |
42 | This included building and installing a complex piece of software like | |
43 | Sourcehut and debugging issues encountered along the way, using | |
44 | Ansible for managing and deploying infrastructure, as well as learning | |
45 | more about the Exim mail transfer agent used to run FSF and GNU's | |
46 | array of mail servers. | |
47 | ||
48 | In conclusion to my internship and the year 2020, it's safe to say | |
49 | that this year has been an eventful year for many people, including | |
50 | myself. I started my internship with the tech team back in May, and | |
51 | as a graduate student at the time, I was expecting a reasonable and | |
52 | balanced workload for my work on my thesis over the coming months. | |
53 | However, early on (less than two weeks) into my internship I learned | |
54 | that due to a number of reasons, I needed to complete my master's | |
55 | studies on a two-month deadline. I told the tech team about the | |
56 | issue, asking whether I could take a hiatus to complete my studies | |
57 | without affecting my internship. I am beyond thankful to the tech | |
58 | team and the FSF as whole for being accommodating, and for their | |
59 | flexibility in allowing me to take a leave to focus on writing my | |
60 | thesis and wrapping up my master's studies. I managed to successfully | |
61 | wrap up my studies in that short timeline, and focus on my internship | |
62 | afterwards. | |
63 | ||
64 | However, all good things must come to an end, and this internship is | |
65 | no exception. I am incredibly grateful to the members of the FSF tech | |
66 | team -- Ian, Andrew, Ruben, and Michael -- for welcoming me to the | |
67 | team as an intern and mentoring me, answering my many questions, and | |
68 | helping me learn more. It has been an honour and a wonderful | |
69 | experience for me all around working with you all and seeing the | |
70 | energy and passion with which you take on the work and | |
71 | responsibilities that come with being an FSF sysadmin and Web | |
72 | developer. While most of my interactions were with the tech team, I | |
73 | also got to interact with FSF staffers from several other teams during | |
74 | my internship, and I'm thankful for our conversations and the chance | |
75 | to get to know and appreciate the important work you do. | |
76 | ||
77 | This internship has come to an end, but I will carry with me all of | |
78 | the good memories and the lessons I learned along the way, and will | |
79 | happily to continue working with you as a volunteer. The things I | |
80 | learned have been invaluable and greatly helpful to me, as I | |
81 | transitioned into my new full-time job at Savoir-faire Linux as a Free | |
82 | Software Consultant, where I get to work on various parts and aspects | |
83 | of Jami, a GNU package for universal communication which respects the | |
84 | freedoms and privacy of its users. | |
85 | ||
86 | This internship has come to an end, but I will carry with me all of | |
87 | the good memories and the lessons I learned along the way, and will | |
88 | happily to continue working with you as a volunteer. The things I | |
89 | learned have been invaluable and greatly helpful to me, as I | |
90 | transitioned into my new full-time job at Savoir-faire Linux as a Free | |
91 | Software Consultant, where I get to work on various parts and aspects | |
92 | of Jami, a GNU package for universal communication which respects the | |
93 | freedoms and privacy of its users. | |
94 | ||
95 | I would like to thank the FSF for providing me this excellent | |
96 | opportunity to work alongside the tech team as an intern, and take | |
97 | away so many valuable lessons and great memories. | |
98 | ||
99 | Interested in interning for the Free Software Foundation? | |
100 | The application period for spring 2021 internships is currently | |
101 | open. Please see https://www.fsf.org/volunteer/internships for | |
102 | more details and information on how to apply! | |
103 | ||
104 | ||
105 | -*- | |
106 | ||
107 | Copyright (c) 2020 bandali | |
108 | ||
109 | Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification, | |
110 | are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright | |
111 | notice and this notice are preserved. This file is offered as-is, | |
112 | without any warranty. | |
113 | ||
114 | this file: https://bndl.org/fsf-internship-beyond.txt |