Insider Anon
| Synonyms: | insider, shady anon |
| See also: | larrie, big larrie, anonymous, troll |
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In One Direction fandom, insider anons send anonymous tumblr asks to big larrie accounts, supposedly reporting inside information. These anonymous posts contain predictions of PR stunts and other developments in the conspiracy theory that 1D bandmembers Harry and Louis are being forcibly closeted by their management.
Non-larries assume that the insider anons are trolls and/or other larries. Confirmation bias is strong with larries' use of insider anons, as they reportedly receive many asks, but often just publish the ones that turn out to be true. Since it is possible to send yourself an anonymous ask on tumblr, it is conceivable that big larries are sometimes sending themselves the asks. However, larries will compare notes and announce that the same post has been sent to multiple larrie accounts. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Not all larries take insider anons seriously. For example, see these jokey posts by happy1days:
- Insider anon here with my inside information from the inside (August 23, 2015)[1]
- Insider anon here! A thing will happen in a timeframe and everyone will be ahh (February 6, 2016)[2]
In 2018, Tumblr user 1dclowns shared a story about being manipulated by a "shady anon" who lied about their identity:
me and this shady anon eventually began to talk more and more. in fact, i considered them a really good friend. i was going through a hard time so it was nice to have someone to constantly look forward to talking to. they made me feel like i was important, and that i was a friend to them as well. i spent more time talking to them than i did with anyone else. but… i was lied to from the very beginning. this person was pretending to be someone, but i don’t want to say who.. it’s embarrassing to think about how much i believed them in the first place. however, they seemed to be saying all the right things and predicted a bunch of things in the fandom. now that i look back though, a lot of what they said was so ambiguous that it could have been interpreted in a variety of ways. that’s what tricked me, and everyone else. it was months before i even found out the truth about them, and i feel so horrible that i let things go on for as long as they did.[3]
In Other Fandoms
This aspect of Larry fandom is very similar to the situation with Domlijah, where Lotrips fans who were hanging out at the "Prancing Pony" thread on the DataLounge forums would see anonymous messages purportedly from industry insiders or even Dominic Monaghan or Elijah Wood. These anonymous messages were the source of the belief that Dom and Elijah were sending secret messages to the tinhats by wearing clothes with certain color combinations. (See also Rainbow Bondage Bear.)
Similar beliefs about the insider knowledge of anonymous posters can be seen in the MCR LiveJournal community chemicalromance. When anon commenting was turned off in 2007, some people complained that the band wouldn't be able to comment any more.[4] MCR fandom isn't even especially known for tinhatting, though it is known for fourth wall breaking.
References
- ^ archived, with 226 notes as of 27 March 2016.
- ^ archived, with 27 notes as of 27 March 2016.
- ^ the truth., Archived version by 1dclowns, 18 January 2018. As of 4 May 2024, this tumblr post has 156 notes.
- ^ "Yes, some people find the need to make-up stupid rumors and talk shit. But if the guys want to stay anon then they should be able to stay anon. Why can't the mods just read the anon comments and if they are inappropriate then not allow them in." MOD POST 2 (sorry guys): chemicalromance, Archived version, comment by iluvcemetaries, 21 January 2007.