[~bandali/bndl.org] / 2020 / 12 / 18 / fsf-internship-beyond.html

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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 &mdash; Ian, Andrew, Ruben, and Michael &mdash; 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 />
<p id="copy">Copyright &copy; 2020 bandali</p>
<p id="license">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>
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7808cfc7 AB	1	<!doctype html><html lang="en"><head>
	2	<meta charset="utf-8" />
	3	<meta name="author" content="bandali" />
	4	<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
	5	<title>My internship with the FSF tech team and beyond — bandali</title>
	6	<link rel="icon" href="data:,">
	7	<link rel="canonical" href="https://bndl.org/2020/12/18/fsf-internship-beyond" />
	8	<link rel="alternate" href="fsf-internship-beyond.txt" title="plain text" type="text/plain" />
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	10	body{line-height:1.6;padding:0 2em;}p{max-width:37.5em}
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	18	.box{background:#1b1d1e;border-color:#373c34;}}
	19	</style></head>
	20	<body>
	21	<h1>My internship with the FSF tech team and beyond</h1>
	22	<p>by <a href="https://bndl.org"><b>bandali</b></a>
	23	on December 18, 2020 <small>(also
	24	in <a href="fsf-internship-beyond.txt">plain text</a>)</small></p>
	25
	26	<p class="box">Originally published on the Free Software Foundation's
	27	sysadmin blog:<br />
	28	<a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/my-internship-with-the-fsf-tech-team-and-beyond">My
	29	internship with the FSF tech team and beyond</a></p>
	30
	31	<p>Hello! I'm
	32	<a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/introducing-bandali-intern-with-the-fsf-tech-team">Amin
	33	Bandali</a>, and this is my second blog post on the FSF sysadmin blog,
	34	concluding my internship with the FSF tech team this year.</p>
	35
	36	<p>Throughout my internship with the tech team, I have worked mainly
	37	on sysadmin tasks related to setting up and/or managing FSF's
	38	GNU/Linux servers. Perhaps most significantly, I set up an instance
	39	of the <a href="https://sourcehut.org">Sourcehut</a> forge software to
	40	help
	41	<a href="https://libreplanet.org/wiki/FSF_2020_forge_evaluation">evaluate</a>
	42	it as a candidate for the upcoming
	43	<a href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/coming-soon-a-new-site-for-fully-free-collaboration">FSF
	44	forge project</a>. I documented the installation and setup process of
	45	Sourcehut's various components in the form of a literate GNU Emacs
	46	Org-mode file, where source blocks are interspersed with comments and
	47	prose explaining them. One can then progressively evaluate and
	48	execute the source blocks, and optionally have their results stored
	49	back in the Org file itself to help with
	50	documentation/demonstration.</p>
	51
	52	<p>I have also been slowly working on various improvements for the
	53	server running www.gnu.org, and will continue doing work on it as a
	54	volunteer after the end of my internship. This will hopefully be
	55	beneficial to the FSF sysadmins running the server, the GNU webmasters
	56	who do webmastering work on gnu.org, and the general public browsing
	57	and using gnu.org's pages. Notably, changes included upgrading the
	58	server to the latest release of Trisquel GNU/Linux, and revamping and
	59	improving the search mechanism for gnu.org's pages. Additionally,
	60	there are several other projects that I would like to tackle with the
	61	tech team in the near future.</p>
	62
	63	<p>During my internship with the FSF tech team, I picked up a variety
	64	of new skills and learned more about a diverse set of topics and
65	tools. This included building and installing a complex piece of
66	software like Sourcehut and debugging issues encountered along the
67	way, using Ansible for managing and deploying infrastructure, as well
68	as learning more about the Exim mail transfer agent used to run FSF
69	and GNU's array of mail servers.</p>
70
71	<p>In conclusion to my internship and the year 2020, it's safe to say
72	that this year has been an eventful year for many people, including
73	myself. I started my internship with the tech team back in May, and
74	as a graduate student at the time, I was expecting a reasonable and
75	balanced workload for my work on my thesis over the coming months.
76	However, early on (less than two weeks) into my internship I learned
77	that due to a number of reasons, I needed to complete my master's
78	studies on a two-month deadline. I told the tech team about the
79	issue, asking whether I could take a hiatus to complete my studies
80	without affecting my internship. I am beyond thankful to the tech
81	team and the FSF as whole for being accommodating, and for their
82	flexibility in allowing me to take a leave to focus on writing my
83	thesis and wrapping up my master's studies. I managed to successfully
84	wrap up my studies in that short timeline, and focus on my internship
85	afterwards.</p>
86
87	<p>However, all good things must come to an end, and this internship
88	is no exception. I am incredibly grateful to the members of the FSF
89	tech team — Ian, Andrew, Ruben, and Michael — for
90	welcoming me to the team as an intern and mentoring me, answering my
91	many questions, and helping me learn more. It has been an honour and
92	a wonderful experience for me all around working with you all and
93	seeing the energy and passion with which you take on the work and
94	responsibilities that come with being an FSF sysadmin and Web
95	developer. While most of my interactions were with the tech team, I
96	also got to interact with FSF staffers from several other teams during
97	my internship, and I'm thankful for our conversations and the chance
98	to get to know and appreciate the important work you do.</p>
99
100	<p>This internship has come to an end, but I will carry with me all of
101	the good memories and the lessons I learned along the way, and will
102	happily to continue working with you as a volunteer. The things I
103	learned have been invaluable and greatly helpful to me, as I
104	transitioned into my new full-time job at Savoir-faire Linux as a Free
105	Software Consultant, where I get to work on various parts and aspects
106	of Jami, a GNU package for universal communication which respects the
107	freedoms and privacy of its users.</p>
108
109	<p>I would like to thank the FSF for providing me this excellent
110	opportunity to work alongside the tech team as an intern, and take
111	away so many valuable lessons and great memories.</p>
112
113	<p class="box">Interested in interning for the Free Software
114	Foundation? The application period for spring 2021 internships is
115	currently open. Please see
116	<a href="https://www.fsf.org/volunteer/internships">https://www.fsf.org/volunteer/internships</a>
117	for more details and information on how to apply!</p>
118
119	<hr />
120	<p id="copy">Copyright © 2020 bandali</p>
121	<p id="license">Copying and distribution of this file, with or without
122	modification, are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the
123	copyright notice and this notice are preserved. This file is offered
124	as-is, without any warranty.</p>
125	</body>
126	</html>