Some of the distros I think have pages with user groups. Most computer software user groups historically have been coordinated by software vendors as a way of reducing support burdens. But I think nowadays most people are coordinating on social media, facebook and reddit, and those are countrywide.
This is one of those things that the Internet permanently changed. I remember attending a few Portland Linux Group meeting back sometime in the 90's. I don’t recall where the venue was but I remember it was large, with hundreds of people, and there was a stage and a commercial vendor was presenting something. There was a vibe then that was very different. The PC started in the 80s and everyone in society knew it was going to change the world, it was very exciting, particularly for those of us who knew about the Internet. When Internet access became commercially available in mid 1990 it was like the height of it, all of us of that generation watched the world transform in front of our eyes, and we knew it was the result of us putting our shoulders behind the wheel and pushing it. The user groups were a way for us change agents to help each other remember we were a minority among a general society of people who didn't understand what was happening., But today, the Internet, and the PC are mainstream. Windows is everywhere and so is Linux. And the personal computer is now just a glorified dumb terminal, all of the real computing work takes place on the server end. It honestly does not matter if you are typing away at a Windows interface or a Linux desktop interface or a Macintosh desktop interface - none of the real work takes place there anymore, with the possible exception of maybe music or video editing, or maybe a wordprocessing document, or a few niche things like that, everything else you do including me typing this email, would not function without a Linux operating system involved. The user groups now are for the techs who are the minority doing the advanced stuff, in a sea of regular Linux users 3/4 of who don't even likely know whether they are using Linux or Windows, and who honestly don't care. In fact, in truth, if you consider that an Android phone is in fact, a Linux desktop, the amount of Linux desktop use exceeded the amount of Windows desktop use many years ago. It's the mainstream, now. Ted -----Original Message----- From: PLUG <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Richard Owlett Sent: Saturday, February 7, 2026 6:13 AM To: Portland Linux/Unix Group <[email protected]> Subject: [PLUG] Finding geographically local Linux user group I'm in rural SW Missouri [Springfield nearest city]. My web search turned up groups in Kansas City, St. Louis, and one evidently somewhere along Mississippi river. ~20 years ago there was a general computer users group {Windows focused} but it apparently died when COVID appeared. Is there some sort of national 'database'? TIA
