An
acronym for the Digital Equipment Computer Users Society, DECUS was formed in 1961 to bring together users of
DEC hardware and
software. In the
heyday of
VAX/VMS,
RDB, and other DEC technologies, membership in DECUS was practically assumed of anyone who used those environments in their jobs.
Magnet schools which taught
high school computer programming classes on
PDP and
VAX computers often encouraged their teenage students to join DECUS as well.
DECUS chapters exist worldwide, with many members and DEC vendors meeting yearly at various DEC-themed conferences. After DEC was purchased by
Compaq, DECUS has also been absorbed into Compaq as well, with the US chapter renamed to
Encompass.