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| | 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> |
| | 45 | |
| | 46 | <p class="box">Originally published on the Free Software Foundation's |
| | 47 | sysadmin blog:<br/> |
| | 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> |
| | 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 | |
| | 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> |
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