ACUG #0447

To see photos from MossyCon3, held on 4 April 2007, click here.

To see a video and photos from MossyCon4, held on 16 March 2008, click here.

THE HISTORY OF THE A.C.U.G.
(as written by Lord Ronin)

According to the legends passed on by the old timers, when I joined the group, there wasn't any name and it was just a bunch of fellows meeting regularly over their PET computers starting in 1978ce. The earliest documented listing we have found is in a 1983ce Compute!'s Gazette listing the group as the "Astoria Commodore User Group".

Speeding up time a few years... I joined in 1993ce. At that time the group had finally become more than a copy party, officially meeting as an authorised CBM user group. Our number is 0447, as stated on the impression stamp. Not to sound egotistical, only that they wanted new blood. I soon became the editor and the Commodore 128 librarian. Don't get impressed. The newsletter at that time was one single sheet of paper, and it didn't even have a name. I was the only 128 user in the group. Honestly, I conned to get the 128 librarian job, just to have the files. Around that time there was the great fear that Escom, who had recently bought CBM, was going to do all sorts of things that would negatively influence the group, as in the use and name of the group. At a meeting, ideas where thrown about. I suggested "Amiga & Commodore User Group". OK, it was more of a joke at the time, trying to keep the initials the same. Anyway, from that time till June of 2006ce, that was the name of the group. At the yearly biz meeting of the group in July of 2006ce, we changed the name for many reasons, creating a new name of "Anything Commodore User Group". Though there are dark reasons for this, we also wanted to present the fact that members are interested in "anything" Commodore.

TODAY

We are small, loud and opinionated. Well, that is a quote from Jeri Ellsworth about our group and one that is fairly much accurate. Some of our members use the Commodore and/or the Amiga as their primary systems. What we have at the moment is a small group that stretches across the U.S. of A. At times we have Canadian members as well. We try to preserve all that we can of hardware, software and hard copy of Commodore and Amiga materials. I term us the 2nd generation users, meaning that most of us did not enter the computer world till after the fall of Commodore. Or in short, "it's all new to us", as the older long-time members split after the fall of Escom.

We collect hardware and software, which we test and sell off to club members. We also have a small shop that sells C= items and other things. The shop supports the group. At this time, we are not a non-profit group. That is in the legal paper works and will take time as well as money. We collect hardcopy (books, magazines, manuals and the like). These are being indexed for the group, creating the hardcopy and software library for the group (an ever ongoing project). Our BBS is returning. There, we have games to play, e-mail, message boards on the subjects of interest to the members, special A.C.U.G.-only message base, files and a very talkative Sysop who loves to answer e-mail. All this is done on a Commodore 128D. So there's is the BBS, hardcopy and software library things, plus the fanatical devotion of many members. We also put out a monthly newsletter called "The Village Green". Depending on format, it runs 12-20 pages each month. Along with that, there is a monthly Commodore 64 1541 disk called "The Penny Farthing". At times, we also release a C=128 1571 disk.

A.C.U.G. GOALS & POLICY

We want to know it all, and at this time, we don't. There are so many avenues to this great PC platform that many of us can't even decide what direction to follow. So we keep grabbing things as we can and try to learn them. Take GEOS, for example. Most of the members are into GEOS, but not all of us. We learn by having the teacher and the students learn from each other. Call it Zen and the art of the C=. We wish to collect everything C=. A utopian idea, I know, but it is fun to see new software and hardware. At least to us it is new. We want to spread the word of the C=, dispelling a lot of the other systems' history revisionism about the place the C= holds in the computer world. Not all of the groups' interests are shared. That is fine, as it makes us stronger in diversity and we can learn from one another. As a fast example, many members are also into Role Playing Games. So we deal with the tools that were on Q-Link for RPGs that were made 20 some odd years ago. Others want to learn to program, others to do word processing, others just want to hack, while others want to just use and so on.

We are open to members that want to learn and share whatever they know about the C= PC platforms with one another. As one old time cracker told us, "You don't talk about the golden years. You haven't reached them yet". True, we are still growing in understanding. But that in no way means that we have forgotten the first time we fired up the PC and saw that blue screen, wondering what it was all about. New things happen every day for us.

Now, we don't believe in piracy of things. That being said, we are dedicated to preserving all things for the C= PC platforms. It's not our fault if the company doesn't support it anymore. But we will not allow copies of supported software or hardware or hardcopy in our group. Even walkthroughs for games that can be downloaded must have the author's OK to be passed around. We are into preserving, not theft.

So there you have the thumbnail sketch of our group. There is a lot more to be said, but let's leave that for those interested and those that contact me. And although I am slow at times, I will reply. Thanks for making it this far in the text.

A.C.U.G. MEETING TIME & LOCATION

ACUG officially meets on the third Thursday of every month at 7 PM. The group meets at Mohr Realities Games, 623 29th Street, Astoria, Oregon. Visitors are always welcome!