This morning I saw this exact woman. We made eye contact, so I went up to her and we started talking. After a while, she said “there’s only one reason why I’m not going to kiss you right now”. I asked what it was. She said “him”. I turned around, and there he was: Bibi Netanyahu.
At 8 years old your index finger briefly grazed your dad's CVS receipt allowing 0.0013ug of xenoestrogens to transdermally slip into your bloodstream and now you must live on knowing this facial expression will only ever reach your eyes through a mid-tier IPS screen
@infraflakes at this point I honestly believe libreoffice and gimp are intentionally kneecapped and recommended as windows replacements to interfere with linux's growing market share
despite their maintainers efforts, it's unbelievable how bad they are and how resistant they are to feedback
Technolarp has publicly admitted that he never received permission. Technodad says he has been contacted several times, has avoided answering because he does not know how to react, wants some peace, and remains “inconclusive.”
Inconclusive is not consent.
Continuing anyway reverses the ethical burden. It forces a bereaved father to either bless an ongoing imitation of his son or become the person who shuts down a channel after roughly 190,000 fans have attached themselves to it. That is a consent trap created by building the audience first and asking for approval later.
A fan poll cannot authorize the use of Alex’s identity. Fans do not own his voice, persona, branding or relationships. A future promise to give 50% to charity may benefit a good cause, but charity changes where some money goes. It does not create permission.
The channel has already gained substantial private value from imitating Alex, even with AdSense disabled. Technolarp’s older channel has roughly 2,600 subscribers. The impersonation channel reached about 190,000 in five weeks. That does not prove malicious intent, but it plainly shows where the momentum came from.
This is also different from fan art or a one-off impression. It is an ongoing first-person performance, marketed with language such as “He’s back in spirit,” that copies Alex’s voice, mannerisms, Minecraft appearance and video concepts while interacting with people who knew him.
He may sincerely believe he is paying tribute. Sincerity does not supply consent. The responsible move is to pause, stop placing this decision on Technodad, and either obtain explicit written approval with clear limits or transition the channel toward his own identity.
Do not harass him. But stop pretending that charity makes the consent problem disappear.
A tribute remembers someone. It should not turn that person into somebody else’s growth strategy.