by bandali +on May 29, 2020 (also +in plain text)
+ +Originally published on the Free Software Foundation's
+sysadmin blog:
+Introducing
+Amin Bandali, intern with the FSF tech team
Hi there, I'm Amin Bandali, often just bandali on the
+interwebs. I wear a few different hats around GNU as a maintainer,
+webmaster, and Savannah hacker, and I'm very excited to be extending
+that to the Free Software Foundation (FSF) as an intern with the FSF
+tech team for spring 2020.
Growing up around parents with backgrounds in computer engineering +and programming, it did not take long for me to find an interest in +tinkering and playing with computers as a kid, and I first came into +contact with GNU/Linux in my teenage years. My first introduction to +the world of free software came a few years later, when a friend +kindly pointed out to me that what I had vaguely known and referred to +as "open source" software is more properly referred to as free +software, and helped me see +why +"open source" misses the point of free software. After learning +about and absorbing the ideas and ideals of free software, I have +since become a free software activist. As a computer scientist who +enjoys studying and hacking on various programs and sometimes writing +my own, I have made a point of releasing all I can under strong +copyleft licenses, particularly the +GNU AGPL +license.
+ +My involvement with the GNU +Project started in 2016, first as a volunteer webmaster, and later +as one of the maintainers of +GNUzilla and +IceCat late last year. Also around the same time, I led a group +of volunteers in organizing and holding +EmacsConf 2019 as a +completely online conference, using only free software tools, much +like the excellent +LibrePlanet +2020. I love GNU +Emacs, and use it more than any other program. GNU Emacs helps me +do a wide variety of tasks such as programming, reading and composing +emails, and chatting via IRC.
+ +More closely related to my internship with the FSF tech team, I +have been familiarizing myself with various pieces of the +GNU Savannah infrastructure +with help from veteran Savannah hacker Bob Proulx, gradually learning +and picking up tasks helping with the administration and maintenance +of Savannah. I am also a member of the Systems Committee of my +university's computer science club, overseeing and maintaining a large +fleet of GNU/Linux servers for our club members.
+ +For my internship with the Free Software Foundation, I will be +working with the FSF tech team on a number of tasks, including helping +with +the free +software forge project, as well as various improvements for +gnu.org. I look forward to learning many new things and picking up +valuable skills through my internship with the FSF's exceptional tech +team, who do so much for the GNU project and the wider free +software community.
+ +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.
+