Author Topic: Professor Powers's fake website  (Read 88013 times)

Dread_Pirate_Mel

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #50 on: July 21, 2010, 10:20:39 AM »
Congrats on your 10,001 negative post, "Archie." 

And really I guess I should be grateful that you haven't made any cowardly anonymous posts on this forum like you have on NSF.

Dr Hackenbush

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #51 on: July 21, 2010, 10:36:16 AM »
So it's all fine and good that MPA requires its authors to have a Ph.D. in poster authenticating. In part because of that excessive standard, it hasn't been updated in two years and omits many of the posters - including Star Wars C - that casual poster buyers are likely to buy

Ah, I see.  You have no problem criticizing someone else's site, but when yours is criticized you get your panties in a bunch.  Nice double standard, Mel  thumbup 

Dread_Pirate_Mel

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #52 on: July 21, 2010, 10:42:16 AM »
Ah, I see.  You have no problem criticizing someone else's site, but when yours is criticized you get your panties in a bunch.  Nice double standard, Mel  thumbup 

I'm not really criticizing it - just trying to spur Jeannie into action. It's a great site and Jeannie should be thanked for starting it.  But the reality is that it's only half as good as it could be and has been effectively abandoned, so now commercial dealers like Cinemasterpieces are the only place to find information on fakes.

Offline brude

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #53 on: July 21, 2010, 11:38:09 AM »
Wow, I was just at Prof. Powers...what a fount of misinformation.

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #54 on: July 21, 2010, 11:56:33 AM »
Is the guy even still alive?  His site hasn't been touched in years.  Aside from the fact that a stupid Ebay seller is using it as reference (which is what should really be talked about), why are we wasting our time on an old story and old site?
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Dr Hackenbush

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #55 on: July 21, 2010, 12:45:59 PM »
I'm not really criticizing it - just trying to spur Jeannie into action. It's a great site and Jeannie should be thanked for starting it.  But the reality is that it's only half as good as it could be and has been effectively abandoned, so now commercial dealers like Cinemasterpieces are the only place to find information on fakes.

I agree that a collector should use every (reliable) venue to gain knowledge, but often life intervenes and people don't have nearly the time to constantly update a website.  I know this has been the case for Jeannie of late.  Can't speak for before that, however.

easyenders

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #56 on: July 21, 2010, 02:22:25 PM »
good thread.....not been on here for a little bit...........archie (reprints....) on MPF was a little bit of sour amongst a gloop of syrup, and have never been on MPF since the exodus.......nice to see the lack of intervention and openess to free speech on here, congrats eatbie and holiday.

Offline archie leach

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #57 on: July 21, 2010, 06:18:00 PM »
Is the guy even still alive?  His site hasn't been touched in years.  Aside from the fact that a stupid Ebay seller is using it as reference (which is what should really be talked about), why are we wasting our time on an old story and old site?

It's not a bad idea to bring this up every so often, particularly on a forum where newer collectors congregate.  It shows the lengths these scumbag sellers will go to in order to con the unsuspecting.

Offline stewart boyle

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #58 on: July 21, 2010, 06:23:08 PM »
Well said Archie.

stew

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #59 on: July 21, 2010, 06:41:00 PM »
It's not a bad idea to bring this up every so often, particularly on a forum where newer collectors congregate.  It shows the lengths these scumbag sellers will go to in order to con the unsuspecting.


Point taken.

 ;)
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Offline archie leach

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #60 on: July 21, 2010, 07:11:32 PM »
However, Archie then went into his 10,000th personal attack against Dave because he doesn't meet Archie's idiosyncratic standards of poster authenticating.  He then praised "Dan R." who deleted his very useful site years ago in order to cash in on a never-published poster authentication book.

I am doing my best to avoid feeding the troll, but the only thing you got right in this passage is the spelling.

If you really think that Dan took down his website to 'cash in', then you are a far bigger dolt than I give you credit.  Dan's site initially came down because bootleggers were using his information to make 'better' bootlegs.  It's the double-edged sword of authentication.  His information, or at least that which hasn't been collected on dealer websites, is now passed from collector to collector via email and forums such as these.  One can disagree with his methods, but this was his choice to make and certainly was not done to 'cash in'.

You owe it to your fellow new collectors on this board to try to present correct information.

And, if you haven't yet noticed, in this thread I praised you for correctly pointing out the scumbag.  So that's  9,999 and 1....

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #61 on: July 21, 2010, 07:48:40 PM »
I can attest that all of the above is true.

T
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Dread_Pirate_Mel

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #62 on: July 21, 2010, 07:56:43 PM »
If you really think that Dan took down his website to 'cash in', then you are a far bigger dolt than I give you credit.  Dan's site initially came down because bootleggers were using his information to make 'better' bootlegs.  It's the double-edged sword of authentication.  

Really Jason - and that is your real name as you've admitted (the same as Hargon, by chance) - if you're going to insult me don't you think we should be on a first name basis?

I wasn't around when it first came down but it's been reported many times on the various boards that it came down because he wanted to publish a book.  Last year he confirmed on NSF that he had prepared an authentication book on Spiderman and was going to work on a "final book covering many different films":








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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #63 on: July 21, 2010, 08:12:44 PM »
Mel, I don't think anyone was trying to insinuate that there was no such book ever spoken of or in the works.  I think the issue they had was that you said he was "cashing in".  In fact, as you quoted, he says, "i really don't care if I sell 5 of them."  Cashing in is probably not the right choice of words for the situation.
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Dread_Pirate_Mel

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #64 on: July 21, 2010, 08:24:44 PM »
Mel, I don't think anyone was trying to insinuate that there was no such book ever spoken of or in the works.  I think the issue they had was that you said he was "cashing in".  In fact, as you quoted, he says, "i really don't care if I sell 5 of them."  Cashing in is probably not the right choice of words for the situation.

Sure, I shouldn't have used "cash in" because it has a pejorative connotation. I really didn't mean it that way. But the salient point is the original MPA is gone forever - at least in part because Dan R. wanted to provide the information in book form - and nothing has really replaced it.  We now have a well-intentioned new MPA that hasn't fulfilled its initial promise and commercial dealers like Cinemasterpieces to fill the void.

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #65 on: July 21, 2010, 08:26:53 PM »
The way I remember it, it came down because dealers, mainly Dave Lieberman, were using his info.  The site is still out there, just not for everyone to see.

T
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Offline CSM

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #66 on: July 21, 2010, 08:28:18 PM »
The way I remember it, it came down because dealers, mainly Dave Lieberman, were using his info.  The site is still out there, just not for everyone to see.

T

Yes, I recall reading someone had the foresight to archive it...
Chris

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #67 on: July 21, 2010, 08:31:21 PM »
Sure, I shouldn't have used "cash in" because it has a pejorative connotation. I really didn't mean it that way. But the salient point is the original MPA is gone forever - at least in part because Dan R. wanted to provide the information in book form - and nothing has really replaced it.  We now have a well-intentioned new MPA that hasn't fulfilled its initial promise and commercial dealers like Cinemasterpieces to fill the void.

The main problem with Jeannie's site (of which I was the first poster) is that she wanted people to provide pictures of originals and fakes.  Not generic pictures, their own pictures.  Very few people have the time and patience Dan had in putting together his info.  A lot of us know how to spot a fake, but to explain it with our own photos is a different story.  It means finding the fake, comparing it with the original, and so on.  I think this is the main reason why the site never took off.  Dan was doing it all by himself.  I personally found it extremely time consuming.

T
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- "Wishing you the best of luck with All Poster Forum and in encouraging others to appreciate the magical art of film posters" - Martin Scorsese (2009)

Dread_Pirate_Mel

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #68 on: July 21, 2010, 08:32:18 PM »
The way I remember it, it came down because dealers, mainly Dave Lieberman, were using his info.  The site is still out there, just not for everyone to see.

T

But this is a serious point Thierry.  What is the deal with poster collectors who are so proprietary about "their" authentications?  Shouldn't it be our goal to get accurate information out to the masses in as many venues as possible to prevent fiascos like Chop paying Rick $100 for a fake Star Wars?  How much better is the world because Jonas Salk DIDN'T patent the polio vaccine and didn't try to "cash in" on the vaccine? He had no desire to profit personally from the discovery, but merely wished to see the vaccine disseminated as widely as possible.  (And obviously epidemics vs. poster fakes are worlds apart but you get the point)

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #69 on: July 21, 2010, 08:37:52 PM »
I personally was very unhappy with Dan's decision to take it down.  All this work for nothing, it seemed totally ludicrous to me.  But he worked very hard on it.  Spent a lot of money to achieve his goal.  The correct thing to do would have been for dealers to redirect their clients to Dan's site, not just flat out steal the info he provided.  It's two very different things.  One is dispatching information, the other is theft.  If I had spent as much time as he did on his website and saw poster dealers take my work and use it for their own benefit, I would have closed it down too.

T
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Offline CSM

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #70 on: July 21, 2010, 08:49:23 PM »
I personally was very unhappy with Dan's decision to take it down.  All this work for nothing, it seemed totally ludicrous to me.  But he worked very hard on it.  Spent a lot of money to achieve his goal.  The correct thing to do would have been for dealers to redirect their clients to Dan's site, not just flat out steal the info he provided.  It's two very different things.  One is dispatching information, the other is theft.  If I had spent as much time as he did on his website and saw poster dealers take my work and use it for their own benefit, I would have closed it down too.

T
"
Therein lies the entire crux of the argument - ownership of information and accountability for its dissemination.  It all comes down to the fact the information listed on certain sites about authenticating posters is not "pure" in that there is little accountability.  Where did the information come from, what methods were used, who is providing the expert/authorative opinion?  These important answers are almost always omitted...and of course no one really ever even feels the need to reference just where their authentication guide actually came from.

Sure it is important to get the info out to collectors BUT who is policing that the information is correct?  Some "dealers" have ulterior motives in authentication - but what can you do when you have a stack of 5,000 minty white inserts you need to peddle out?  
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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #71 on: July 21, 2010, 08:52:09 PM »
Shouldn't it be our goal to get accurate information out to the masses in as many venues as possible...

It is commendable of you to take the time to share your findings regarding the characteristics of known originals vs. known reproductions/reprints/bootlegs/fakes, whatever they may be called, and to point out the individuals who choose to con people by providing false information - with the intent to deceive.  There are only a few people who have taken the time to photograph and list the differences among originals vs. fakes, and most everyone appreciates honest, hard-working people's work.  

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #72 on: July 21, 2010, 09:01:34 PM »
Therein lies the entire crux of the argument - ownership of information and accountability for its dissemination.  It all comes down to the fact the information listed on certain sites about authenticating posters is not "pure" in that there is little accountability.  Where did the information come from, what methods were used, who is providing the expert/authorative opinion? 

This is exactly right, Chris.  Which is why it was so important for ONE person with the time and resources necessary to do the work and expose the steps that led to his final decision.  Dan was that man.  Jeannie, although her intent was more than honorable, had a bunch of different people doing the deed.  It just didn't work.  Unfortunately, I don't know a single person today who could take it on where Dan left it.

T
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Dread_Pirate_Mel

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #73 on: July 21, 2010, 09:20:13 PM »
This is exactly right, Chris.  Which is why it was so important for ONE person with the time and resources necessary to do the work and expose the steps that led to his final decision.  Dan was that man.  Jeannie, although her intent was more than honorable, had a bunch of different people doing the deed.  It just didn't work.  Unfortunately, I don't know a single person today who could take it on where Dan left it.

T

I think you're being a bit pessimistic T.  The new MPA is good - just needs some additional posters and some website enhancement.  As Jeannie said, one problem is that it's built in Wordpress, a blog tool.  Nobody else will use a microscope like Dan did but that's not really necessary.  I've got a few authentications - ET, Grindhouse, Lost in Translation, Saving Private Ryan - that can be added.  Somebody around here can draft a decent Star Wars A and C authentication in no time - for those I don't own both the original and the bootleg.   If Jeannie doesn't want to work on the site anymore, she should give it to somebody else - or preferably a group.

Offline Zorba

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Re: Professor Powers's fake website
« Reply #74 on: July 21, 2010, 09:24:47 PM »
Mel I am pretty sure I have written more than once that I appreciate your work. You have saved me on at least two bad buys for sure and helped me make at least one good one.
MPA also helped me out on a couple of occasions.

Kinda sad to read that there was a site like that out there and that it had to go because others wanted to cash in on someone elses hard work.

This thread itself has been of great service to me personally. I now understand some things better.   8)