Re: linux user groups?
On Tue, Aug 26, 2025 at 11:03:02PM +0000, Andy Smith wrote:
> Most LUGs that we set up through the late 20th century to early 2010s
> only had mailing lists as their communications method, and stuck with
> that. They have all, without any exception, seen a dramatic fall-off of
> interaction.
Before that were Unix User Groups. The first one that I joined was UKUUG (UK
Unix User Group ‡‡) in the 1980s. These performed a vital function,
dissemination of information and would have conferences - 300+ people was not
unusual, your employer would pay for you to go. This was in pre-Internet days
when you got your information on paper and met people physically. Other groups
of around then were EUUG (European UUG) and LUUG (London UUG). These withered
away and some LUGs were formed but never at the scale of the UUGs.
Part of the reason was the better availability of information, ie the Internet,
but also the focus moved on from operating systems to applications - so there
were things like Perl, PHP, PostgreSQL conferences -- meet ups more than
membership groups.
‡‡ of which I was chair for a while.
--
Alain Williams
Linux/GNU Consultant - Mail systems, Web sites, Networking, Programmer, IT Lecturer.
+44 (0) 787 668 0256 https://www.phcomp.co.uk/
Parliament Hill Computers. Registration Information: https://www.phcomp.co.uk/Contact.html
#include <std_disclaimer.h>
Reply to: