There's a new Joomla User Group in town! Or not exactly "town": it's online. The Code Along JUG is a User Group for everyone interested in coding (regardless of experience level). Meetings take place on Zoom on every third Sunday of the month. 

So how did it come about?

I decided to start a JUG after toying with the idea for such a long time.  In-part I felt reluctant because I have been part of Joomla London for years and grained so much knowledge from Phil and Gary I didn’t want to compete with them.  I had also been less of a participant in recent times so I didn’t want to come across as any sort of aggressor. 

Nevertheless I had suggested my ideas to them and they hadn’t taken up the idea so I figured it was ok to do this myself.

The main reason I wanted to start the JUG was because I used to attend a code along Meetup run by two guys, Steven Rutherford and Kaps (Bhavesh Ramburn).

They would set tasks for us to complete on a monthly or weekly basis.  And my God, as a non-coder, and as someone who didn’t get time to code often in his main job, I can tell you I was OUT OF MY DEPTH.

But I LOVED IT.  I learned so much so quickly.  And Steve had such a great attitude towards teaching.  He basically refused to help me!  I know that sounds harsh but both him and Kaps had the opinion that you shouldn’t learn from Stack Overflow because you would copy and paste answers.  But instead you should try to really understand the problem.  And I didn’t most of the time lol.  But that was ok, I was never made to feel bad about that.  And I learned quickly, and I started teaching others.

But it forced me to try and learn more.  And if I had tried hard enough and enough different things and explained it to him, sometimes Steve would give me a hint or help me over a hurdle.  I came out of each session feeling like a God, absolutely buzzing because of some simple thing I had achieved.  

So that’s what I want to achieve here, but with a focus on Joomla so I can help that community as I have gained so much from Joomla over the years. I may not be the best coder, but perhaps I can add value in the things I am good at. And organisation isn’t one of them, but I’ll give it my best shot.

Who can join?

ANYONE! I welcome anyone from any country or at any level. Honestly I gained so much from doing things that were “too hard” or “I didn’t know how to”. It really made me realise how much I limited myself and lacked self-belief. It was part of my journey of growth, if even one person grows as part of this experience I will be elated.

How does it work?

This is not a tutorial. I know some JUGs do run them, and I would recommend you go to those JUGs they offer a lot. In particular I would love to shout out Joomla London, Joomla Chicago, and Joomla Australia for their fine work.

But I want this to be different.  You turn up, with a device, so you can do some coding or take part.  This isn’t a sit and watch experience.  Although if you are inexperienced all I ask is you let me know your level so we can find out the best way to pair people.  

We are learning as we go, and the same is true with the JUG. I don’t really know where it will take us.  I have tried to set out tasks that I think will be interesting and vary in difficulty. BUT I will ask that people suggest ideas too.  I’ll do my best to organise the event and the tasks so people have a clear goal.  I aim for the JUG to last 2 hours and to set tasks within that 2 hours.  

When is it?

The first Code along with Joomla User Group (Code along JUG) took place on 16th February 2025 (a historic moment).  Then follow ups will be every month on the 3rd Sunday unless myself or Adam can’t make it.  

Where is it?

The JUG will be on Zoom, and will either be recorded or live streamed – I am for live streaming as I hate editing.  We welcome all, and I will have live captions turned on for those who prefer it.  This should help with anyone who struggles with English or has an accessibility requirement.

How do I find out more information?

We currently have a Facebook group you can join.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/985515609990897

Who runs it?

Eoin Oliver from Square Balloon, a boutique Joomla web agency.

Adam Melcher from New Line Web design a Joomla web agency and owner of J2Commerce and helper at Joomla Day USA.

Are they affiliated with Joomla?  

No, not at all, we aren’t in any official position, we are doing this as volunteers to help the community. I repeat, we are not Joomla, we are not affiliated with Joomla.

But we do have permission to use the domain name and we have an official logo, and we have had the user group sanctioned by Joomla. All opinions are our own. Unless we borrowed them. But they definitely cannot be construed as Joomla.

I’m nervous about joining?

Don’t be, we want this to be an inclusive environment, a friendly environment and most of all a fun environment. I don’t want any politics, toxicity, nonsense, aggression, passive aggression, sharp comments or anything else.

So please do come and don’t be afraid to tell us if you are nervous so we can look after you.

I hope to see you at one of our events!