August is Admit You're Happy Month and August 8th is Admit You're Happy Day. We admit we're happy this silly celebration exists because it gives us a chance to pass along some philosophical musings about happiness.

But before we delve into happiness, we'll first talk about the concept of "admitting one is happy." Admitting implies a reluctance to disclose, grant, or concede. Why would a person be reluctant to disclose happiness, a state of well-being or joy? Perhaps because we believe that what Thomas Jefferson dubbed our unalienable right to pursue happiness should remain an activity of pursuit, not an act of possession.

In any case, that tantalizingly elusive quality turns up in at least a few observations we've stumbled across in our quest to understand happiness. Eric Hoffer, a philosopher known for his adages, observed, "The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness." Another philosopher, F.H. Bradley, included this tease in his book of Aphorisms: " The secret of happiness is to admire without desiring. And that is not happiness." And short-story master O. Henry offered this classic no-win perspective on happiness: "Perhaps there is no happiness in life so perfect as the martyr's."

Maybe I'm alone in this, Gillyharold, but I strongly feel that as a moderator, you should set an example, and start crediting your sources for these musings--or at least acknowledge they are not your own.

I know that if a quiz maker attempted a similar cut and paste without reference to the author, editors would come down on him/her like a ton of bricks.

I'm not saying you are deliberately attempting to pass this writing off as your own, but perhaps a brief nod to the original source might be in order.

http://www.m-w.com/wftw/02aug/080802.htm

By the way, if you were wondering why I noticed this, your thread title reads 'Admit Your (sic) Happy', while the text reads 'Admit You're Happy'.

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I know that if a quiz maker attempted a similar cut and paste without reference to the author, editors would come down on him/her like a ton of bricks.

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But in public like this? I'm sure as an editor you would do it through private message.

As an editor, of course it would be dealt with through private message. Isn't the whole point that an editor does his or her best to ensure that plagiarised material is spotted BEFORE it goes public and brings this website into disrepute?

Most members know that sources ought to be credited, and editors and moderators most certainly do.

...there are many threads within this particular forum for which no source is credited...this particular one is not the first..

Very true! Most of us realise that nearly all the posts Gillyharold enters aren't original, and presumably they aren't covered by copyright either. Surely if they were then fellow administrators or moderators would advise a colleague of the fact by private message...wouldn't they??

Then my question is...does something from an online website, such as "Merriam-Webster Online" which displays a copyright line at the bottom of the page, mean that the text on the page is copyrighted, or not....?

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As an editor, of course it would be dealt with through private message. Isn't the whole point that an editor does his or her best to ensure that plagiarised material is spotted BEFORE it goes public and brings this website into disrepute?

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Ah, but that horse has left the barn here.

You guys are right that it would have been more tactful had I made my thoughts known privately. I probably should have done that. However, regarding this issue being a public one, well it already was. The thread was up for all to see.

Countless musings, lists, stories, poems and other offerings appear in these fora without any attribution to the original authors, and okay--I finally got fed up and singled this one out. As a writer, I've seen my own work plagiarized, and it bothers me when I see it done to others. I intended no malice toward Gillyharold, personally, though. We've never even exchanged messages, as far as I know.

I realize it's often difficult--if not impossible--to trace the origins of jokes circulating on the Internet, for example. However, I feel that when possible, sources should be credited. I don't think we should have two sets of standards on this site--one for quiz creators and another for board contributors. What is the difference between plagiarized material appearing in a quiz and plagiarized material appearing as a forum post? Again, I was not (and am not) accusing Gillyharold of deliberately trying to dupe our members. Maybe he or she (sorry, I don't know your gender, GH) is not up to speed on FT's plagiarism guidelines, or maybe he or she thought everyone would simply realize this was not original prose. I guess we'll have to wait to hear from Gillyharold to know the answer to that.

By the way, this is totally off-topic, but where is Gillyharold a moderator? I see the 'moderator' designation listed under the name, but could not find him or her among the mod ranks on the main page.