1 My internship with the FSF tech team and beyond
2 by bandali on December 18, 2020 (2020-12-18)
5 Originally published on the Free Software Foundation's sysadmin
7 https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/my-internship-with-the-fsf-tech-team-and-beyond
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
107 Copyright (c) 2020 bandali
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.
114 this file: https://bndl.org/fsf-internship-beyond.txt
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