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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> | |
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