Pretty much ditto of what everyone else said, just in my own way,and my hands needed an exercise, so you're free to read, or not.
Flannel Mouth, another thing you need to know is that more than 95% of the AMA members out there do not even know about this forum. They may have heard of RCU, but many of them do not even post regularly, and let alone in here. If you were a member for years and years, and then found this website after all this time, you wouldn't even recognize it as real. It's simple, this forum pales in comparison to what really goes on. Everyone that reads this thread has a very poor idea what it's like to be in the AMA, particularly if they've never been involved before. Heck, my view are being distorted and I know this is... hooey. It's almost not real what goes on in here, pretty much non-existent blabber. There is a very large disconnect between what really happens and what is talked about in here. Most people would be better off without the AMA discussion, IMHO. I have seen one discussion on E-zone go from a public draft about electrics, to many revisions, to appearing in the AMA magazine months later, discussing how far behind the AMA magazine was in detailing the progress of electrics. That was a realistic discussion, and it was a lot of fun. ...And the reason I mention it is because that's pretty much the only realistic discussion I can remember. Honestly, don't put too much thought into joining, if you see a local flying field, you want to try it out, just get an AMA, and fly there. You'll have a whole lot to unlearn about the AMA once you start flying, a whole lot of unnecessary and potential anxiety (prepare for deep moral voracious discussion on model airplane regulations! ...Oh, maybe I should just smile and fly. ). That's pretty much what everyone here has been saying in this thread.

The true face of the AMA has been distorted by RCU, and although your questioning may seem to have nothing to do with RCU... it has everything to do with RCU. You'll be fine and dandy with the people you meet.