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The image originated from one of the previous /ftl/ threads and I cannot trace its origins or know how it was sourced. All I know is that the material was already released into the ether of the world wide web and that, if any damage has been inflicted, it cannot be undone. To say otherwise would be to deny the very nature of digital technology itself. You call it an endeavour of "dubious morality", but we both know that there is no doubt about its immorality. Fishtank and discussing it on 4chan - all of it is inherently exploitative and immoral. Any boundaries we set within this context stem from visceral discomfort rather than calculated moral considerations.
Maybe it's because I feel disconnected with my own younger self, but I do not feel that the child I used to be in the past deserves the same moral consideration as someone who is a child in the present.
I made these considerations, and in the end I determined that the artistic value outweighed my apprehension to using this picture. A little girl striking a defiant and disinterested pose, while being portrayed as the mastermind behind a long-running web show that is itself mired in intrigue, controversy, malice and potentially criminal negligence. In the end, the comedic value of the juxtaposition took precedence over protecting the subject of the image - a girl that no longer exists.
