The term "user groups" generally describes a group of computer pros who socialize over their work using a common software or program, sort of like fraternities that bond over a passion that's all Greek to nongeeks: binary code, HTML, Java.

Those meetings, usually held in the nearest available board rooms, have been shelved this week in favor of a lounge on East Carson Street. The low-key netherworld of Pittsburgh user groups will meet up Thursday for Summer Slam IX, an annual gathering of IT professionals ready to swap advice, war stories and business cards.

Typically, user groups can focus on programs as specific as SharePoint, a Microsoft program designed for a collaborative work place, or as broad as Java, one of the fundamental programming languages in the computer world.

But the invitation for the Summer Slam IX urges developers to "leave your code at the office." After all, the gathering that shares a name with a World Wrestling Entertainment television show will be held at the Villa Southside lounge.

Think twice about sending that IT request Friday morning.

The free party will run from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. Interested attendees must register at the Pittsburgh Technology Council website, http://www.pghtech.org/events/.

The robust world of Pittsburgh user groups can read like alphabet soup, as evidenced by this sampling of expected participants in the Thursday gathering: "PMI's IT LIG, STC, WPEAF, WPLUG, WSMQUG and WSUG."

Although in this case the gathering is being organized by the tech council, some major tech companies have read the proliferation of user groups as a way to encourage nationwide miniarmies of devoted customers.

"They even send trinket boxes from time to time," said Reed Powell, manager of the local Adobe ColdFusion Flex and AIR user group. The company passes along literature and demo displays of new products for the group to play at meetings.

While Adobe is most commonly associated with Reader and Design programs -- the ones that always seem to need an update -- Mr. Powell and his compatriots focus on Adobe's server-side products.

For example, ColdFusion is an application-building program that was the original framework behind the social networking site MySpace, said Mr. Powell, who is a developer at Impaqt, a Green Tree-based search engine marketing agency.

An example of a smaller-scale ColdFusion application might be a system that automatically sends e-mail notifications to customers.

Adobe has taken notice of the user groups focused on its products, even if they are like the low-key Pittsburgh chapter with its eight to 10 members meeting the third Wednesday evening of every month.

Adobe has even sent T-shirts.

Companies like Apple have established an authorization program for its user groups, assembling a directory of them on the company website.

It's rare to find an IT professional who works with just one type of software, and coders often hold membership in more than one user group.

As one of 10 sponsors of the Summer Slam event, the Shadyside-based product development firm ComponentOne will set up a table-top display with products, displays and the necessary swag. The sponsor plans on about 250 people attending.

ComponentOne Communications Manager Eve Turzillo said a lot of people can take for granted the work of IT staff and support.

"Someone had to do all of that back-end coding on any website you go to," she said. "Many just expect a website to be there and functional."

Others see the user group meeting as a monthly chance to play.

The 9-to-5 workday is usually monopolized by task-oriented problems that need solving right away and leave no room for programming fun, said Bruce Adams, a software engineer at Vivisimo, a search technology company in Squirrel Hill.

But at his user group, Pittsburgh Coding Dojo, the half-dozen or so professionals get to treat coding "as being a craft, almost an art," he said. The Coding Dojo meeting agenda centers on a challenge.

For example: Here is a jumble of 14 letters. Now how many separate English words can they form?

The Dojo members then build a program from scratch designed to solve the problem.

You have 30 minutes.

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