I think there are two different ideas here (as I see it), I will outline them and give my views:
- An Index/catalogue of the Paper Props available on this forum.
- A backup of all the Paper Prop available on this forum.
1. Index/Catalogue
This is a great idea (but a hell of a lot of work for someone). Over on the Harry Potter sub forum Decat has done a fantastic job of doing just that
check it out if you haven't seen it.
I'm not sure how or even if this would work for the main Paper Props forum. Perhaps a list of all Movies/TV Shows/Games etc. with a link to each thread....
This would be very useful, especially for new members, and also for those of us looking at creating "new" props to see if they have been done before (the search facility can be a bit hit or miss), the only downside is that some of the older files are no longer available (for whatever reason), which can get a little frustrating sometimes), it would be better if the files were uploaded to the RPF, however this isn't always practical, due to file sizes...which is where point 2 comes in...
2. Backup/Database of Paper Props
In principal I like the idea, however I have a few reservations, the files would have to be accessible at all times, this means unless they are stored on their own server, they will need to be stored in the "cloud" which could cost a bit. Another problem would be who would have access, ideally it should be available to all RPF members (with qualifying criteria of some kind) however how would this work, once qualified you get a link and/or password? It is somehow linked to your RPF account (not sure if this would even be possible) to gain access? The main concern I see, and I may be wrong here, is that having all the files in one easily accessible place could open the doors for more Paper Prop Recaster/sellers to get hold of many files easily.
Don't get me wrong, I would love to see either or both of these ideas come to fruition, I just think that we need to be sure of what is intended and what the possible implications could be.
Just my 2p worth.
Peter