Last year was my first year in RUSA and I did a couple of perms to get my feet wet and to learn the process of how this quirky group conducts itself.
As someone just used to going out and riding my bike wherever I want, whenever i want, I found the process a little encumbering and was just as happy to plan my own route, "in the spirit of" a brevet and ride it like it was an official ride without signing away my rights to sue someone when I fall down/get hit.
RUSA is probably a lot of things to people, but for me it is a pretty unique group that I hope/want to be more focused on the "spirit" of the long rides than the "credit" we receive, and I don't value it's ability to protect me from the consequences of accidents at all.