The Golden Age of computer user groups

Enlarge / Programmer power, indeed. (Here’s a Tufts computer group sometime in the mid to late 1970. Getty caption explicitly states, “Note equipment and 1970s fashions.”)

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The Homebrew Computer Club where the Apple I got its start is deservedly famous—but it’s far from tech history’s only community gathering centered on CPUs. Throughout the 70s and into the 90s, groups around the world helped hapless users figure out their computer systems, learn about technology trends, and discover the latest whiz-bang applications. And these groups didn’t stick to Slacks, email threads, or forums; the meetings often happened IRL.

But to my dismay, many young technically-inclined whippersnappers are completely unaware of computer user groups’ existence and their importance in the personal computer’s development. That’s a damned shame. Our current reality may largely be isolated to screens, but these organizations helped countless enthusiasts find community because of them. Computer groups celebrated the industry’s fundamental values: a delight in technology’s capabilities, a willingness to share knowledge, and a tacit understanding that we’re all here to help one another.

And gosh, they were fun.

For example, David Intersimone began attending the Southern California Computer Society in 1975. At one meeting, he bought an early IMSAI 8080 kit and soldered it together at home. “The lights lit but the processor would not reset and stop,” Intersimone recalls.

So at the next meeting, he introduced himself to “the computer doctor,” who was recommended as

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