[I wrote this but I put it aside, because who wants to hear what boomers did in the 1970's? But the discussion thread seems to be rooted in the 1980's when computers were things you bought at Sears and there were actual *computer stores* around, and BBS's you could dial up, and local computer clubs aplenty in any good sized town. There was a time before all that, you know. Except: most people I hear from, don't "know that". Things then, were very different from the times in ongoing discussion; and from times today. So, here it is. Pardon the length, this is unfamiliar to most who would read it, so I have to give background.- Herb] The generation of "computer clubs" of the mid 1970's, are of a period before most of the clubs and groups in discussion. I co-started one of the first such clubs in Columbus OH; attended others as they were created. Chronologically: Clubs & groups exploded in size and number once personal computers became production items and then commodity items, in and through the 1980's. BBS's in the period, reduced the need for physical meetings at clubs. By the 1990's there were: widespread dial-up Internet; with sufficient bandwidth and graphics and modem speed; and generic computers easily bought at stores (or online) fast enough to support Internet browsing. So the physical groups dissipated in size and number going through the 1990's and pooped out by 2000 or so, approximately. In the early days of the mid-70's, we got together because there was no other means to obtain and share computing devices and figure them out. The providers were, electronic kits or parts or surplus One bought from ads in electronics magazines. Or that surplus-store some towns had. Or surplus/trash from someone's company or a local university. We were our own tech support; and whatever kit-producing-engineers we got LETTERS and phone calls from; and again, the magazines. There were no personal computers in production in that early era; just things people built, or one bought used minicomputers and their terminals and printers. Then there were these new microprocessors that some technical people were buying to play with, or beginning to use professionally, or learn about in college. As a host of microcomputer items were produced, we'd buy 'em and compare notes. Same with things like terminals, modems, other categories of software and hardware. All these transactions are described, by the surviving computer-club paper newsletters one can find online. Some clubs *didn't even meet*: they were pure correspondence; newletters were contents of member's letters about their projects, reports on software and hardware. Most people did not have a lot of money to spend; most computer things were not cheap; technical skills were essential, not optional. Clubs let people pick each other's brains, share and trade "tech". Even when personal computers were more common, there would be clubs or sections of clubs about specific software: databases, word processing, business. There was no other institution to learn this stuff; otherwise one read "books" or "magazines" or "da manuals and schematics". These clubs that met, were much like other hobby clubs to this day. They printed newsletters and postal mailed them monthly (mimeograph or photocopies). We met at a home or sometimes an institution (university, library, museum). There was a meeting with minutes and resolutions and other business, then a presentation. People stayed a bit to chat before or after. Members also met at each other's homes to work on their own computers and to trade. Sometimes there was a meeting to trade things. There were dues, to pay for postage and printing, snacks, rent for the meeting space. The legacy these groups left behind, are the newsletters with technical content; the archives of software and manuals, which get mined often; and the survivors, who continue their vintage computing interests in varying degrees. Radio Amateur clubs today still do most of these things, by the way. And in these early years, computer-clubs used hamfests to obtain and trade scarce equipment. Dealers at hamfests were either "computer" or "radio", generally. The Hams got to tap this tech, and developed lots of ham computing tech; they supported early microcomputing. Some hams were unhappy about this alliance, which peaked in the 1990's when PC's were common. Computing stuff is now largely gone from hamfests. I know many other hobbies still operate as clubs as I've described. There is a social dimension to these organizations that all the online click-to-get activities cannot provide. And many clubs have activities which require multiple people to participate physically in some way. No mailed newsletters today, usually. However, all these clubs today which operate as I've described, seem to be predominantly run by and populated with "old people". There's a generational change in culture, as well as the technological changes I described. That would be another lecture: one today is enough. regards, Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT info