In case a link to the original image no longer works, but I find the same image (or a very similar one),
Should I change the link or leave it as is?
For example:
post #176784
Posted under General
In case a link to the original image no longer works, but I find the same image (or a very similar one),
Should I change the link or leave it as is?
For example:
post #176784
In general: no. The source is where the file originally came from, not where a similar-but-not-identical version is currently available. If the source gets deleted then it gets deleted. It can't be helped. The source getting deleted doesn't change the fact that it was the original source.
In this particular case: yes. The DeviantArt file is an exact match for the original post (you can tell because it will give you a duplicate error if you try to upload it), and the original source itself was bad (it was just a link to the artist's website, http://www.anry.ru, rather than a direct link to the image itself). Also the DeviantArt post dates to 2003, so it likely is the original source.
Just adding this for clarity's sake.
"Identical" in this case does not refer to files merely being pixel-perfect duplicates. They must match byte-for-byte. Otherwise, they will result in an MD5 mismatch.
If you don't want to upload files to test this, you can use tools with file comparison features such as HxD.