git.shemshak.org - ~bandali/bndl.org/blob - 2020/12/18/fsf-internship-beyond.txt

   1 My internship with the FSF tech team and beyond
   2 -----------------------------------------------
   3
   4     Originally published on the Free Software Foundation's sysadmin
   5     blog:
   6     https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/my-internship-with-the-fsf-tech-team-and-beyond
   7
   8 Hello!  I'm Amin Bandali, and this is my second blog post on the FSF
   9 sysadmin blog, concluding my internship with the FSF tech team this
  10 year.
  11
  12 Throughout my internship with the tech team, I have worked mainly on
  13 sysadmin tasks related to setting up and/or managing FSF's GNU/Linux
  14 servers.  Perhaps most significantly, I set up an instance of the
  15 Sourcehut[1] forge software to help evaluate[2] it as a candidate
  16 for the upcoming FSF forge project[3].  I documented the installation
  17 and setup process of Sourcehut's various components in the form of a
  18 literate GNU Emacs Org-mode file, where source blocks are interspersed
  19 with comments and prose explaining them.  One can then progressively
  20 evaluate and execute the source blocks, and optionally have their
  21 results stored back in the Org file itself to help with
  22 documentation/demonstration.
  23
  24 [1] https://sourcehut.org
  25 [2] https://libreplanet.org/wiki/FSF_2020_forge_evaluation
  26 [3] https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/coming-soon-a-new-site-for-fully-free-collaboration
  27
  28 I have also been slowly working on various improvements for the server
  29 running www.gnu.org, and will continue doing work on it as a volunteer
  30 after the end of my internship.  This will hopefully be beneficial to
  31 the FSF sysadmins running the server, the GNU webmasters who do
  32 webmastering work on gnu.org, and the general public browsing and
  33 using gnu.org's pages.  Notably, changes included upgrading the server
  34 to the latest release of Trisquel GNU/Linux, and revamping and
  35 improving the search mechanism for gnu.org's pages.  Additionally,
  36 there are several other projects that I would like to tackle with the
  37 tech team in the near future.
  38
  39 During my internship with the FSF tech team, I picked up a variety of
  40 new skills and learned more about a diverse set of topics and tools.
  41 This included building and installing a complex piece of software like
  42 Sourcehut and debugging issues encountered along the way, using
  43 Ansible for managing and deploying infrastructure, as well as learning
  44 more about the Exim mail transfer agent used to run FSF and GNU's
  45 array of mail servers.
  46
  47 In conclusion to my internship and the year 2020, it's safe to say
  48 that this year has been an eventful year for many people, including
  49 myself.  I started my internship with the tech team back in May, and
  50 as a graduate student at the time, I was expecting a reasonable and
  51 balanced workload for my work on my thesis over the coming months.
  52 However, early on (less than two weeks) into my internship I learned
  53 that due to a number of reasons, I needed to complete my master's
  54 studies on a two-month deadline.  I told the tech team about the
  55 issue, asking whether I could take a hiatus to complete my studies
  56 without affecting my internship.  I am beyond thankful to the tech
  57 team and the FSF as whole for being accommodating, and for their
  58 flexibility in allowing me to take a leave to focus on writing my
  59 thesis and wrapping up my master's studies.  I managed to successfully
  60 wrap up my studies in that short timeline, and focus on my internship
  61 afterwards.
  62
  63 However, all good things must come to an end, and this internship is
  64 no exception.  I am incredibly grateful to the members of the FSF tech
  65 team -- Ian, Andrew, Ruben, and Michael -- for welcoming me to the
  66 team as an intern and mentoring me, answering my many questions, and
  67 helping me learn more.  It has been an honour and a wonderful
  68 experience for me all around working with you all and seeing the
  69 energy and passion with which you take on the work and
  70 responsibilities that come with being an FSF sysadmin and Web
  71 developer.  While most of my interactions were with the tech team, I
  72 also got to interact with FSF staffers from several other teams during
  73 my internship, and I'm thankful for our conversations and the chance
  74 to get to know and appreciate the important work you do.
  75
  76 This internship has come to an end, but I will carry with me all of
  77 the good memories and the lessons I learned along the way, and will
  78 happily to continue working with you as a volunteer.  The things I
  79 learned have been invaluable and greatly helpful to me, as I
  80 transitioned into my new full-time job at Savoir-faire Linux as a Free
  81 Software Consultant, where I get to work on various parts and aspects
  82 of Jami, a GNU package for universal communication which respects the
  83 freedoms and privacy of its users.
  84
  85 This internship has come to an end, but I will carry with me all of
  86 the good memories and the lessons I learned along the way, and will
  87 happily to continue working with you as a volunteer.  The things I
  88 learned have been invaluable and greatly helpful to me, as I
  89 transitioned into my new full-time job at Savoir-faire Linux as a Free
  90 Software Consultant, where I get to work on various parts and aspects
  91 of Jami, a GNU package for universal communication which respects the
  92 freedoms and privacy of its users.
  93
  94 I would like to thank the FSF for providing me this excellent
  95 opportunity to work alongside the tech team as an intern, and take
  96 away so many valuable lessons and great memories.
  97
  98     Interested in interning for the Free Software Foundation?
  99     The application period for spring 2021 internships is currently
 100     open.  Please see https://www.fsf.org/volunteer/internships for
 101     more details and information on how to apply!
 102
 103
 104                                  -*-
 105
 106 Copyright (c) 2020 bandali
 107
 108 Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification,
 109 are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright
 110 notice and this notice are preserved.  This file is offered as-is,
 111 without any warranty.
 112
 113 published: 2020-12-18
 114 plain text: https://bndl.org/2020/12/18/fsf-internship-beyond.txt