Computer Hysteria:   Machine People
       by Berry F. Phillips    September 2004

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago on the planet earth, in the state of Oklahoma, in the city of Oklahoma City, dwelled a small group of humans called "machine people.” They loved interacting with their machines, which were quite complex and always evolving, so they decided to form a club to help each other with the learning curve.

In 1985, the first by-laws were written for what was then the OKC-IBM-PC Users group. In August of 1988, the IBM was dropped from the name and the club was incorporated as OKCPCUG. Of course, an organization of machine people would continue to evolve like their machines. Eventually, OKCPCUG affiliated with APCUG, a national organization of computer clubs. The Monitor, a printed tabloid, was distributed to some 17,000 locations in the metroplex and received the best tabloid award from APCUG. As the Internet evolved, OKCPCUG developed a premier Website and eventually the eMonitor, an electronic tabloid. This replaced the printed Monitor, expanding our distribution globally.

In 1995, the OKCPCUG gave the Senior Net Users Group (SNUG), which previously had met at Mercy Senior Health, a place to meet and they eventually became affiliated with the club. SNUG is one of the best groups in the nation offering a computer lab and special instruction for senior computer users in a state-of-the-art facility. Our membership fluctuates between 1500 and 2000 machine people.

In 2004, OKCPCUG was renamed the Computer Club of Oklahoma City, since we now represent diverse machine people using a variety of different machines, as well as operating systems. Our history certainly suggests that our machine people are not rusting and becoming obsolete. If you want to shake off your rust, call the Computer Club of Oklahoma City at 405-843-4300 for more information, whether you are a novice or a pro, we will welcome you. We lubricate machine people with continuing education as well as networking. At the risk of becoming obsolete as a writer, I rust my case.

Berry Phillips is a member of the OKCPCUG and a regular writer for the OKCPCUG website and the eMonitor