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7 | <title>My internship with the FSF tech team and beyond — bandali</title> | |
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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> | |
4c4f1c99 AB |
45 | |
46 | <p class="box">Originally published on the Free Software Foundation's | |
a0e46d57 | 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 | ||
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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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