I knew that thread already and it doesn't solve what OP is trying to tell about the threads of inactive OP that has images on it. Unless theymos do the #3 in the poll but it risks user's privacy which is a no-no for most of us.
As what i mentioned the script of Tryninja is way much better but it should be done on server's side for all of the post that has imgur images, which is only theymos can do it, but the risks should be take note first before doing it.