Guidelines
Purpose
The Movie Prop Forum is a place for collectors of original props and wardrobe from film and television to meet and discuss the hobby. By using and participating on the forum, members can help other members, educate one another, show off their collections, buy and sell props, or simply reach out and make new friends in the prop community.
Who Can Participate
Everyone is welcome to apply for membership to the forum. In order to protect users from unscrupulous dealers, spam, and other unsolicited marketing, the forum is private and by approval only. New registrants must participate in the established referral system to complete the registration process by noting on their application for membership one (1) Founding Member or two (2) Active Members with whom they are acquainted.
Every application we receive will be reviewed and once approved, the new member will receive an e-mail detailing how to log onto the forum. To complete the registration process, new members must post an introduction in the appropriate thread and note their real first name and location. If you are already a screen used collector we humbly ask you to post a photo of an original prop or costume from your collection. If you are new to the hobby and came here to learn more before taking your first steps into it, let everyone know and start posting some questions and searching through older threads for FAQ.
Please note, prop and wardrobe discussions are focused on screen-used “original prop” collecting only. Those wishing to discuss replica props and costumes are kindly asked to do so elsewhere.
About Membership Groups
The membership is categorized as follows:
“New Member”: Once an applicant’s registration is approved, they will have limited access to the forum. New Members will be able to read the “Main Discussion" (so they can access "Introduce Yourself” thread), and “Announcements”. New Members will also be limited in that they cannot view the member list, cannot e-mail members, cannot customize their account, and can only store 10 private messages. Once an appropriate introduction post has been made by the New Member, they will be automatically promoted to the “Lurker” group.
"Lurker": All users no longer have a daily limit on posts and after three months of membership the members account can be considered for promotion to "Active Member" status. Such users have access to most of the areas of the forum except the "For Sale" and "Wanted" forums in "The Marketplace". Lurkers can read topics in “Buyer/Seller Feedback” and the "Off-Topic Discussion Forum", but cannot reply to such topics or initiate their own until they are promoted to Active Member status. Lurkers have additional storage space for private messages and can view the member list and e-mail members of the forum.
"Active Member": Once a member has contributed to the forum for three months and the decision has been made (if the member requests), the member will be promoted to this group. In addition to all of the functionality granted to Lurker accounts, Active Members have full posting privileges within "The Marketplace" and "Off-Topic Forum Discussion" (start and reply to topics) and additional storage space for photo hosting and private messages.
"Founding Member": These are members that have been participating since the first few months of the launch of the redesigned forum in early 2004 and have special designation as Founding Members, and have all of the same access and storage considerations as Active Members. But are listed as such for their experience and dedication toward the continuing success of The Movie Prop Forum.
Forum Rules
Any MPF member linking to a personal blog / webpage when creating a new topic or posting in an existing one is required to include the full article within the post, allowing members to read the content without having to exit the MPF. It is permissible to also include a link to the originating site in the post. Any topic made that does not contain the original article will be deleted without warning. When linking to pages such as news sites, auction / sale announcements or company websites the original article does not need to be included in the post.
Selling in The Marketplace
Since the original forum was created nearly 5 years ago, there have never been any types of dues or fees associated with selling or brokering items. The forum has no source of revenue other than donations. We kindly ask all of you to consider making a donation to the forum to help pay for it. If you post something for sale in The Marketplace and it sells, consider making a small donation. Think of it as an "On-Your-Honor" kind of system.
Please remember that only sales of screen-used props and wardrobe may be advertised on the forum. Replicas are not permitted. In rare cases, some exceedingly important replicas may be allowed, pending pre-approval by an admin. Any other commercial items are also not permitted unless it is something not available elsewhere (again, with pre-approval only). If you wish to post such an item for sale, please e-mail one of the administrators prior to posting.
Further, members are to adhere to the following rules/guidelines when selling in "The Marketplace":
1) The item/s for sale are directly from your own personal collection/inventory.
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2) You are an active broker for a third party, and you are brokering the item(s) in the technical sense and with requisite authorization. By acting as an intermediary, it is assumed that you will facilitate the transaction by way of communications, payment, and shipping of the merchandise. In short, you are personally conducting the transaction on the behalf of a third party. Please note that brokers will be held accountable for such transactions as if the items for sale are their own. Brokers will not be exempt from negative reviews in the Dealer Feedback forum.
3) The item/s for sale are required to have a listed price for each individual piece or set.
4) The item/s for sale are required to have sufficient descriptions that potential buyers know what the piece is.
Please note that you must be 18 years of age or older in order to participate (buy, sell, or trade) in The Marketplace.
When posting in the "For Sale" section of The Marketplace, please make sure that you include instructions on how potential buyers can reach you.
Buying in The Marketplace
All members are advised to be cautious when buying items from dealers they are not familiar with. Do your homework and find out who you are buying from before making any formal arrangements or sending money; also make sure that there is a common understanding of what is being purchased, the provenance, and the timetables related to the transaction.
While we will do our best to prevent unscrupulous dealers from selling on the forum, please note that The Movie Prop Forum is not responsible for any transactions originating from this forum. All such transactions, for both buyers and sellers, are at done so at your own risk.
Posting Wanted Threads
One of the great things about the forum is being able to reach so many other collectors when you are looking for a particular piece. Members of The Movie Prop Forum are welcome to post "wanted" and "want to buy" threads in the "Wanted" section of The Marketplace.
Please note that The Movie Prop Forum is not responsible for any transactions originating from this forum. All such transactions, for both buyers and sellers, are at done so at your own risk.
Additionally, you must be 18 years of age or older in order to participate (buy, sell, or trade) in The Marketplace.
Buyer/Seller Feedback
The "Buyer/Seller Feedback" section of The Marketplace is for telling fellow collectors about purchases YOU have made and how YOU felt about them.
It is NOT for spreading rumor, innuendo, hearsay, or other half or false truths.
If you did not PERSONALLY take part in a transaction that you are reviewing, then it is NOT permitted.
Additionally, the "Buyer/Seller Feedback" section is not an arena for word against word arguments. If two parties wish to debate about a deal gone sour, they must do so somewhere other than this forum.
All members are responsible for their own words and actions, as well as the content of their posts, so if a dealer finds something you said actionable, prepare to deal with the consequences yourself.
Off-Topic Discussion Forum
This forum has been set up for the discussion of topics that are not directly related to original prop collecting (e.g. member get togethers, movie reviews. etc.). While this forum allows for more open discussion, topics are to remain film related, and all members are to be respectful and mindful of other members comments and opinions. The following topics are NOT permitted for off-topic discussion:
1) Replicas, or anything pertaining to replicas (i.e. castings, molds, etc.).
2) The discussion of politics and religion in film
Please contact one of the forum administrators prior to posting if you have any questions.
Conduct
The forum is comprised of collectors of many different age groups, religions, and social backgrounds from all over the world. As a community we should all strive to be polite and courteous to all members. We should also be mindful that different people have different moral standards. Please refrain from using profanity or words that can offend others. With such a diverse membership some topics may be welcome by some but not by others. Any topics posted that create an unpleasant environment for members will be deleted without warning.
Grounds for Removal
There are very simple and intuitive guidelines in place here to make the forum an enjoyable experience for all members. Any member found in violation of any forum policies will be warned and/or removed. This forum is not a democracy. If we feel a member is abusing the forum in any way, their account will be deleted. We will try to discuss any such problems with the member before anything so drastic is done, but please remember that while you have been invited in that doesn't mean you will not be shown the door if necessary. Note: sockpupetting is grounds for immediate and permanent removal.
Registration- Forum Terms & Rules
Please take a moment to review these rules detailed below. If you agree with them and wish to proceed with the registration, simply click the "Register" button below. To cancel this registration, simply hit the 'back' button on your browser.
Please remember that we are not responsible for any messages posted. We do not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message, and are not responsible for the contents of any message.
The messages express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of this bulletin board. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to contact us immediately by email. We have the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary.
You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use The Movie Prop Forum to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law.
You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by you or by this bulletin board.
All content on this forum is the property of the Movie Prop Forum and it respective authors. All reposting, reproduction or publishing, either electronically or physically, without the permission of the Movie prop Forum and its respective authors is strictly prohibited by law. By registering to the Movie Prop Forum you are agreeing to these terms.
Let’s all do our best to make The Movie Prop Forum an enjoyable experience for everyone.
The MPF Admin Team
The Movie Prop Forum Posting and Membership Guidelines
version 2.2 - May 2011