Website Name: The Movie Prop Forum
Website URL: http://mpdf.ipbhost.com
Website Description: “The Online Community for Screen Used Prop & Wardrobe Collectors”
Website Owner/Admin: Mike Mancini (Morpheus on the forum)
Type of Website: Online Discussion Forum
Subject Matter/Focus: Strictly original props and wardrobe
Cost: None
Access/Membership/Participation Requirements: Registration recently reopened. Must register and login to view the forum (not viewable to non-members). Must post an introduction in order to view the forum. Must achieve certain levels of participation to view all areas of the forum.
Participant Overview: 259 members as of the time of this review. New and seasoned collectors alike.
Content/Functionality: Forum consists of Main Discussion, Discussion Archives, Member Introductions, Announcements, The Marketplace (For Sale, Wanted, and Dealer Reviews). Also has Live Chat functionality and a Private Message and E-mail system.
Presentation/Quality: The Movie Prop Forum runs the popular Invision Power Board (version 2.0.3, latest version 2.2.2). It is well laid out with good moderation to keep content on topic. Good consensus of expectation among membership as to type and quality of participation and contributions.
Time in Service: Operating since March 2004 in current incarnation; previously hosted on ezboard.
Updates/Activity: Fairly active forum (approximately 35 posts per day).
My Experience & Personal Review:
I am somewhat biased as I helped to run the site for a stint, but in my opinion, the Movie Prop Forum is THE online “hub” of the hobby. This is the place that all of the serious prop collectors belong and check on daily, if not throughout the day. Given the insightful moderation, discussions are allowed to take place with little interference.
Most news and events are remarked on first on this forum, and there is typically one or more topics dedicated to the discussion of notable events in the hobby.
Collectively, it is a fantastic resource given all of the participants with very specialized skill and knowledge. If someone isn’t willing to share/help publicly, many are willing to do so directly/offline.
There is also a healthy “Marketplace” component in which collectors can post “For Sale” and “Wanted” topics, with the watchful eye of other collectors as a built in check against questionable pieces. Also part of the “Marketplace” is a “Dealer Review” forum in which members can post the details and opinions in regards to their own first hand transaction experiences.
Also of note is that there are many, many links to topics on the Movie Prop Forum in my OPB articles, so being a member of the MPF is highly recommended in order to get the most out of the content on this blog.
In my opinion, this is the one “must join” online forum in the hobby. Highly recommended to anyone that has an interest in collecting original props.
Jason De Bord