Changes

[[Image:Tyra-banks28.jpg|thumb|300px|right|A secret message? Tyra lets the boys know they are Free to be...together]]Tinfoil or tin hats is a term that orginated from comes originated from people wearing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_Foil_Hat tinfoil hats] to keep out the "alien signals" and is generally used to describe the super paranoid or conspiracy freaks.

A fan is said to be wearing a "tin hat" or engaging in "tinhattery" when they are convinced they are being sent secret signs that their boys favs are really IN LOVE and DOING IT, for example . The term was coined in 2003 to describe the behavior of fans of Lord Of The Rings actors Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan [http://crystalchainwww.livejournaljournalfen.comnet/54986community/dl_anon/4387.html secret messagessource] being sent through the clothing the . Another popular Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson of One Direction (Larry Stylinson). Jared and Jensen wearhave a strong tinhat following in our fandom, but other people are also shipped including Jensen and Misha ([[Cockles]]), Richard Speight and Rob Benedict, and Kim Rhodes and Brianna Buckmaster. Any information that appears to contradict this belief Some people believe in a poly relationship between Jared, Jensen, Misha and their respective partners, which is rejected and said to be the work of known as the Network PR mavens or other evil doers (such as fake girlfriends)Commune.

These people tend to be in the crazy minority. More common are those The majority of fans who happily consume and produce fanworks [[Real Person Fiction|fanfic and fanart]] or even actual stories or photos of the actors, based on the idea of a relationship between starsactors, and approach the fantasy in a playful way. They These fans may make comments in reaction to a photo of Jared and Jensen together along the lines of "oh they are so in love", but this is connected to the fictional constructs of the actors, and the fan is aware it is not fact. These fans may use phrases such as ''I am putting on my tin hat'', it is used to indicate that the author realizes the preposterousness fiction of what they are saying but are happily indulging in their RPS fantasies. A tongue-in-cheek annual activity at the fan convention [[WinchesterCon]] was the Tin Hat Parade, which involved fans making real tin hats out of aluminum foil to celebrate their favourite tin hat pairing.

See also Serious tinhatters will have a firm conviction that the actors concerned are really in a sexual/romantic relationship. They will see signs everywhere to support this, such as the wearing of certain items of jewellery, body language in photos, and comments in interviews. For example at the [[J2Red Bull Soap Box Derby]], in 2008 [[Real Person Fiction]http://www.supernaturalwiki.com/index.php?title=File:1314jerseys.jpg Jared and Jensen wore jerseys] with the numbers 13 and 14 on them. Some fans were excited to discover that in Chinese numerology '1314' means "forever and eternity" - obviously Jared and Jensen were signalling their real relationship through this code. Other things often interpret as signs are: displays of jewellery (from their secret love), wearing of the same or similar clothes, appearing together in public, touching and [[Tin het]]prolonged eye contact.

Conspiracy theories abound and any information that appears to contradict this belief is rejected and said to be the work of the Studio Network PR mavens or other evil doers. Weddings to people of the opposite sex are claimed to be merely elaborate means of concealing the true (gay) loves. Female partners are often referred to as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beard_(companion) beards]. Blind items in gossip columns are also a common source of secret information. Many fans also claim finely-honed gaydars or that they are ITK - "in the know". Complex theories will be developed to account for the presence of heterosexual relationships and children.  Most tinhatters are harmless. However as with any fandom, some tinhatters can manifest an extreme obsession with the topic. This may include direct attacks on people associated with Jared and Jensen through social media sites or blogs, stalking (online and in real life) and doxxing (revealing of personal information such as home addresses online).  The main gathering place for the extreme tinhatters has been the SPN-gossip community which was created on 19 April 2009 on LiveJournal and later moved to Dreamwidth. The latter was was suspended by Dreamwidth on 31 July 2021. Both actions were in response to people on the community repeatedly posting residential addresses related to Misha and Jensen.  [[Image:Tinhat.JPG|300px|thumb|right|2009 [[WinchesterCon]] Winning Tin Hat by huggenkiss]]  See also [[J2]], [[Cockles]], [[Real Person Fiction]], [[Tin het]] and [[Stephanie Ware]] ==Links==* [https://fanlore.org/wiki/Tinhat Tinhat entry] on Fanlore* [https://spn-gossip3.dreamwidth.org/ Spn Gossip] on Livejournal* [http://spn-goss.livejournal.com SPN Goss] on Livejournal* [http://jaredandjensendaily.tumblr.com/ Jared and Jensen Daily] on Tumblr * [http://j2tinhatnetwork.tumblr.com/ J2 Tin hat Network] on Tumblr* [http://j2madhatters.tumblr.com/ J2 MadHatters] on Tumblr* [http://anotherexlarrie.tumblr.com/post/141491713507/j2larrie-shipping Post comparing J2 and Larrie shipping]* [https://speakthetruthj2.weebly.com/intro--start-here.htmls A collection of news items from 2005-2013 about Jared and Jensen with a Tin Hat commentary]* [https://thenewinquiry.com/fifty-shades-of-yellow/ Fifty shades of yellow] by thenewinquiry* [http://junkee.com/celebrity-conspiracy-theories/154327 One Direction, Fake Babies And The Problem With Celebrity Conspiracy Theories] by Junkee* [http://fitchersvogel.tumblr.com/post/66897417361/further-thoughts-on-tinhatting-and-fannish-history Tinhat history] by fitchersvogel* [http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/inside-the-world-of-real-person-fanfiction Inside The World of Real Person Fanfiction] by SyFyWire [[Category:Fandom]][[Category:Vernacular]]