The Apple User Group Connection (AUGC) was established in 1985 by Apple and led by Apple employee Ellen Leanse. AUGC was formed in response to concerns from users in community user groups that, with release of the Macintosh, development for existing Apple II and Apple III computers was compromised. The idea was for Apple to share information with its user community directly, rather than through the more traditional support and distribution channels. The organization successfully encouraged Apple to pursue early internet technology such as bulletin board systems and ARPANET.