Keith,

Your "What makes this site so great?" message is what got me hooked on GMS.  Immediately upon reading it I thought I had found the answer to the Shale boom "misfortunes".  I preached to everyone about landowners sticking up for other landowners.  I watched in my county as hundreds of landowners were scalped by "bounty hunting landmen and operators".  I talked to legislators and regulators to try to find out how this could happen, and soon realized that the existing O & G laws were not going to work for the Shale plays.  There is no comparison of the "shallow dollar factor" to the "deep dollar factor".   Therefore the unscrupulous were bound to take advantage of the common man.  The huge $$$ factor was just too much for them to ignore.  Not much has changed as of yet, and it is quite possible that there will indeed be no change.  While there is nothing wrong with entrepreneurs seeing opportunity and starting a business to make an honest dollar.  Big money is a huge temptation for the unconscionable to take advantage of common "individuals who have worked hard for that little yard they call home".

Unfortunately I believe that the key figures who begged for your favor to host a subsite on GMS have their own agenda,  and that agenda may not be "for the common mans" benefit.  For the USA association to prosper and do what needs to be done, it would have to have a legal base.  It would have to file for "non profit" status with the IRS.  It would have to be properly organized with an elected governing board.  It would have to hire a CPA and be subject to audit.  It probably could never be "free" to join as it would need $$ to operate.

While I wish all who join will gain something from it, I hope they don't put too much faith in it to the point of solving their "wish to be treated fairly" by the shale development "jesters & Czars".  I would warn them to proceed with caution.

Keith, I'm sure it took up your time and patience to set up another page, I hope you won't be disappointed by the outcome.  

Good luck to all, and take care.