This section is concerned with questions relating directly to HLAS and its culture as a USENET newsgroup.
What is HLAS all about?
The charter for HLAS (which first went on-line in August 1995) answers this question thus:
CHARTER
The unmoderated newsgroup humanities.lit.authors.shakespeare
will be for discussion of:
1 - The plays and poems of William Shakespeare and other
English writers of the 16th and 17th centuries.
2 - The life and times of Shakespeare and his contemporaries.
3 - The production, staging, and acting of Shakespeare's plays,
including current and past productions.
4 - Shakespeare's influence and impact on subsequent literature
and culture.
5 - Shakespeare's authorship including his sources, allusions
in his works, publication of his works, possible
collaborations, and possible pseudonymity.
Is there a secret HLAS handshake, or can anyone chime in?
Welcome, newbie! You don't need to be a professor of English literature or an Elizabethan scholar to participate in this newsgroup. HLAS' regulars are employed in a variety of mostly non-academic professions; what unites us is our love for the writings of Shakespeare, as well as (for some subscribers) a desire to exhaustively debate the "authorship issue" (more on that in just a minute). Whether you've studied the plays for 30 years, or you just discovered the Bard last week through a videocassette of Henry V, your comments, (non-homework-related) questions, arguments and wisecracks are welcome.
HLAS is a reasonably polite group (most of the time, at least), in which the regulars have come to know one another pretty well. It's generally a good idea to read a couple weeks worth of posts before you try to post yourself, just to get a feel for the group. If you haven't already done so, we recommend you read up on Usenet etiquette in news.announce.newusers - and that you read this FAQ.
What is the POTM?
Each month, there is a vote for a "Play of the Month" (aka POTM). All interested members of the newsgroup decide which play will be POTM in the month after next. The idea behind this procedure is to have one play as a common subject for discussion, and also to read (or re-read) some of the lesser-known plays. Of course, this doesn't mean one cannot discuss the other plays during this month. A list of the previous plays of the month is usually posted with the call for votes.
In addition, we have a "Sonnet of the Week" discussion aiming at a clearer understanding of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets. Since July 1997, a sonnet (in consecutive order) is posted to HLAS each week. Some of our participants prefer to analyze the poetic or textual meaning of the sonnet, while others choose to discuss how it relates to the authorship issue.