1 My internship with the FSF tech team and beyond
2 -----------------------------------------------
4 Originally published on the Free Software Foundation's sysadmin
6 https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/my-internship-with-the-fsf-tech-team-and-beyond
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
106 Copyright (c) 2020 bandali
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.
113 published: 2020-12-18
114 plain text: https://bndl.org/fsf-internship-beyond.txt
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