The RPF That Was
Back then, membership was limited. Anyone could browse the site, but you could only register during certain open periods of enrollment. I was a neophyte and still a decade away from actually replicating anything myself, so I had nothing to contribute anyway. I was happy enough just to lurk. Because, in those days, lurking at the RPF was a very rewarding experience!
Here's how it would work: You have an interest in a certain prop. So you go to the site and you do a search. You're then presented with some threads. You select essentially any one of them, and you get a series of talented craftsmen and artisans with an eye for detail discussing how they replicate an item to the highest possible quality and accuracy and responding to questions from those interested in undertaking their own project. You read through the threads, see the different techniques used by different builders, see tips from others on alternate ways to achieve a particular aspect of the build.
If you read that and said "Uh... yeah. That's how forums work," then you haven't been to the RPF lately.
The RPF Now
The issue here is that the RPF has become a pack of mewling, entitled brats who want things cheap and/or easy and who don't care for quality or accuracy. There are also those who think they care about quality and accuracy, but wouldn't know either one if it blew them at a rest stop outside San Antonio. Of course, there are exceptions. There are actually some people there who are very talented and/or very helpful. There are people there like Adam Savage. People who work in the prop industry and who are knowledgeable and willing to share their wisdom. But they are too few and too far between. What once was the norm is now hidden in the white noise of mediocrity. If you want some praise for making something half-way decent, this is your place. If you want help to grow and improve, then keep looking.
How Did This Happen?
I don't have a ban log entry, but my ban was for a lack of respect for the RPF community and its members. So what happened? Someone posted a picture of a future product from someone that the owner of the RPF doesn't like. Later, when that photo and all comments that alluded to it were culled from the thread without attribution, I made a 1984 joke. I don't really remember it, something about how the Ministry of Truth has struck again and Eurasia has always been at war with Eastasia. Within minutes, I was permanently banned. An appeal against my ban was held up on the grounds that I associate (outside the forum) with that same person that Art Andrews doesn't like.
There is a private Facebook group with over 160 members, the vast majority of whom were banned from the RPF. There are industry professionals, professional prop replicators, official licensees and people who's time on the RPF long predates Art's. Most of the people are very talented, very knowledgable, and very willing to help others. But for a variety of illegitimate reasons, they've been banned. As a recent example (who I do not believe is part of that group), Richard Coyle, the maker of what is widely considered the very best Blade Runner blaster replica ever made, was banned for responding to a question about parts for one of his blasters, stating that he did offer them for sale. As he wasn't one of those "Premium" members, he was banned. He wasn't soliciting, mind, just answering a question. A 65-year-old man who has been replicating props for over 30 years. Banned for answering a question and providing quality customer service. Yes, you read that right: in the matter of a few years, they went from banning people for not having good customer service, to banning people for exercising good customer service without a license.
And this is the root of the problem. If you want to start off in this hobby, the experienced people that can point you in the right direction are all gone or buried under so many foam Iron Man threads that they're impossible to find. Instead, you're left with a bunch of people looking for the cheapest way to make it "good enough" and complaining endlessly about the price being asked for quality craftsmanship.
Art Andrews has single-handedly flushed a once vibrant, engaging and helpful community straight down the toilet. His attempts to turn the community into a brand, to generate as much money as humanly possible and to silence those who dared speak out about the damage they saw being done in the name of money have all led to a clusterfuck of a community that celebrates mediocrity. If you're interested in prop replication: STAY AWAY. Maybe you've heard Adam Savage sing their praises on the Tested Podcast, but he's not actually very active there himself. He's posted less than 20 times in the last 9 months. In fact, he's only started 24 threads in his 11 years as a member. With that kind of sporadic use, maybe he hasn't noticed what's happened. Maybe he just doesn't know that there are alternatives...
So Where Can I Go Instead?
For something a little more specialized, there's propsummit.com. They focus on BladeRunner and Alien stuff, but are the best source for information on those two franchises.
Additionally, there are lots of sites for a particular fandom with forums dedicated to props from that fandom. There's TARDIS Builders, The R2-D2 Builders club, and a lot more. The point is, if you're interested in a big franchise, there's probably a place dedicated to just that. Do a Google search and find it. For general stuff, there's the MPPC. If you're lucky, you'll get drafted into a super-secret Facebook group with more talent in 150 people than the RPF has in its 80,000 members put together.