My internship with the FSF tech team and beyond
Fri, 18 Dec 2020 15:31:00 -0500

> Originally published on the Free Software Foundation's sysadmin
> blog:\
> [My internship with the FSF tech team and beyond][1]

Hello!  I'm Amin Bandali, and this is my second blog post on the
FSF sysadmin blog, concluding my internship with the FSF tech team
this year.

Throughout my internship with the tech team, I have worked mainly on
sysadmin tasks related to setting up and/or managing FSF's GNU/Linux
servers.  Perhaps most significantly, I set up an instance of the
[Sourcehut][2] forge software to help [evaluate][3] it as a candidate
for the upcoming [FSF forge][4].  I documented the installation and
setup process of Sourcehut's various components in the form of a
literate GNU Emacs Org-mode file, where source blocks are interspersed
with comments and prose explaining them.  One can then progressively
evaluate and execute the source blocks, and optionally have their
results stored back in the Org file itself to help with
documentation/demonstration.

I have also been slowly working on various improvements for the server
running https://www.gnu.org, and will continue doing work on it as a
volunteer after the end of my internship.  This will hopefully be
beneficial to the FSF sysadmins running the server, the GNU webmasters
who do webmastering work on gnu.org, and the general public browsing
and using gnu.org's pages.  Notably, changes included upgrading the
server to the latest release of Trisquel GNU/Linux, and revamping and
improving the search mechanism for gnu.org's pages.  Additionally,
there are several other projects that I would like to tackle with the
tech team in the near future.

During my internship with the FSF tech team, I picked up a variety of
new skills and learned more about a diverse set of topics and tools.
This included building and installing a complex piece of software
like Sourcehut and debugging issues encountered along the way, using
Ansible for managing and deploying infrastructure, as well as learning
more about the Exim mail transfer agent used to run FSF and GNU's
array of mail servers.

In conclusion to my internship and the year 2020, it's safe to say
that this year has been an eventful year for many people, including
myself.  I started my internship with the tech team back in May, and
as a graduate student at the time, I was expecting a reasonable and
balanced workload for my work on my thesis over the coming months.
However, early on (less than two weeks) into my internship I learned
that due to a number of reasons, I needed to complete my master's
studies on a two-month deadline.  I told the tech team about the
issue, asking whether I could take a hiatus to complete my studies
without affecting my internship.  I am beyond thankful to the tech
team and the FSF as whole for being accommodating, and for their
flexibility in allowing me to take a leave to focus on writing my
thesis and wrapping up my master's studies.  I managed to successfully
wrap up my studies in that short timeline, and focus on my internship
afterwards.

However, all good things must come to an end, and this internship
is no exception.  I am incredibly grateful to the members of the
FSF tech team --- Ian, Andrew, Ruben, and Michael --- for welcoming
me to the team as an intern and mentoring me, answering my many
questions, and helping me learn more.  It has been an honour and
a wonderful experience for me all around working with you all and
seeing the energy and passion with which you take on the work and
responsibilities that come with being an FSF sysadmin and Web
developer.  While most of my interactions were with the tech team,
I also got to interact with FSF staffers from several other teams
during my internship, and I'm thankful for our conversations and
the chance to get to know and appreciate the important work you do.

This internship has come to an end, but I will carry with me all
of the good memories and the lessons I learned along the way, and
will happily to continue working with you as a volunteer.  The
things I learned have been invaluable and greatly helpful to me,
as I transitioned into my new full-time job at Savoir-faire Linux
as a Free Software Consultant, where I get to work on various parts
and aspects of Jami, a GNU package for universal communication that
respects the freedoms and privacy of its users.

I would like to thank the FSF for providing me this excellent
opportunity to work alongside the tech team as an intern, and
take away so many valuable lessons and great memories.

> Interested in interning for the Free Software Foundation?  The
> application period for spring 2021 internships is currently open.
> Please see https://www.fsf.org/volunteer/internships for more
> details and information on how to apply!

[1]: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/my-internship-with-the-fsf-tech-team-and-beyond
[2]: https://sourcehut.org
[3]: https://libreplanet.org/wiki/FSF_2020_forge_evaluation
[4]: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/coming-soon-a-new-site-for-fully-free-collaboration

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