Add me up: 09058044362. Thanks

You can hardly go wrong with these tried and true classics, which is why you will find them, in some form or another, in almost every terrible comment out there. (Originally written concerning Goodreads but can apply to other social networks too).

1. Ad Hominem: That's fancy debate talk for insulting people to try to damage their credibility. So, if they're writing about the portrayal of sex in a book, say 'how would you know, you've never even had sex' (don't add a question mark, you wouldn't want to make it seem like you're inviting them to answer). Whether or not it's true makes no difference, nor does it matter that there's no possible way toconfirm the accusation. Really, that just makes it sweeter. But we don't have to stop there . . .

2. Schoolyard Insults: This is sub-ad hominem--a personal attack that has nothing to do with the topic at hand, just blindly flinging mud. Like calling someone a virgin in response to their review of a fantasy novel, despite the fact that virgins often have in-depth knowledge of fantasy universes. This is your bread and butter.

3. Call them 'Pretentious' and 'Arrogant': It will be especially bothersome to them because you'll be doing this in the middle of a comment where you tell them how to think and read, which is the very definition of pretentious arrogance--but as long as you say it first, then you win.

Advanced Techniques
These are a little more complex, but the benefit is that they make it appear to the casual observer as if you're actually trying to discuss things, which lends you false credibility.

4. 'Opinions are Subjective': This one always sounds nice, and it's a great way for you to ignore any counterarguments or contradictions in your own posts. The best part is, it's obviously true, because if the matter at hand were objective--like the acceleration rate of gravity on Earth--it wouldn't be up for discussion. The only things people can differ in opinion about are subjective matters. No matter what evidence or arguments the other person makes, just keep reminding them that it's all subjective, and there's no point to discussing it (then keep arguing back).

5. 'Everyone's Entitled to their Opinion': This also sounds great, and that's because it's what we call a 'thought-terminating cliche'--a meaningless phrase designed to stop people from thinking, like 'agree to disagree' or 'god works in mysterious ways'. It doesn't matter that you're specifically contradicting what the other person has said, demonstrating that, in fact, you don't think they are entitled to their opinion--indeed, that only makes it better.

6. Always Take Jokes Seriously: If a person makes a joke in a review (or in a comment), make sure you take it seriously and argue against it as if it were just a straightforward statement, no matter how clear it is that it was a joke.

No Argument? No Problem!
Trying to make your own counterargument is dangerous, because then people can contradict your points and show how your own statements don't make sense. This means that the person you are intending to annoy will be able to feel that they are doing well and that you are an idiot, which is not what you want. So, you need to present things that look like arguments, but which are actually generically meaningless.

7. Response to Tone: This is a great way to start, because it has nothing to do with what the person has said--you don't even have to be capable of comprehending their points to make this rebuttal. Basically, all you do is say that they sound angry or full of themselves, or that they're being flippant, or that they 'come off as pretentious'--basically anything about how you think they sound. Now, a rookie mistake is to try to explain why you think they come across this way. Do not do this, it only gives them fodder to counterargue and demonstrate that you're wrong.

8. 'It's Not Worth My Time to Explain': This one's easy, all you do is pretend that you have a really great counterargument to refute everything they say, but that you're too busy to actually say what it is. The drawback of this claim is that, if you intend to keep making comments for weeks and months afterwards, it will become clear that you actually do have the time, so you have to move on to Number 9.

9. 'I Already Made My Argument': Just keep implying this--though be careful not to reference any particular post, because that would gives them fuel for their response. The more responses you have over a long period of time, the easier it will be too keep making this claim.

10. 'I Know You're Wrong, I Just Don't Know Why': It's important to keep reiterating this throughout the whole exchange. Like most of these, it's very frustrating because it doesn't give your opponent anything to latch onto.

11. 'You're Too Stupid to Understand Me': This one's very popular amongst the rage-filled manchildren of Reddit, who refer to it as 'The Dunning-Kruger Effect' because it sounds more official. However, you must make sure never to actually put forth your own argument, as this will give them a chance to respond to it and prove that, in fact, they do understand it. It's really better not to actually have an argument at all, though the following techniques will help you to maintain the illusion that you do:

Internet Classics
12. 'I'm Trolling You!': Pull this out any time things don't go your way. It doesn't matter that it isn't what trolling means, or that a troll would never say that they were trolling someone, as it would defeat the whole point, or that if the troll was actually pulling it off, it would already be obvious--just keep insisting that they have 'fallen into your trap', but don't specify what that might mean.

13. 'You're a Troll!' Again, it doesn't matter that this has nothing to do with what 'trolling' actually involves, and don't bother to try to make any specific argument about what would make them a troll, since a response to tone, as discussed above, is all you really need to back this up.

14. CAPSLOCK: This will make it seem like you are yelling, which is very intimidating.

15. Nazis!: Just make an analogy to Nazis, it can be anything. Say their attempt to 'shut you down' is exactly what the Nazis did to the Jews. Say their review will indoctrinate people 'like the Hitler youth', whatever you can scrounge up. The greatest benefit to a Nazi analogy is that is will instantly make the discussion so emotionally charged that it will be impossible for anyone to make a rational point, which is precisely what you want. The fact that talking about books on the internet has nothing in common with mass genocide will only make them more exasperated.

16. Just Link to Something: Preferably a wikipedia page, or a definition of a word. Do not explain what about this link is supposed to be important. Do not use it to construct an argument. Do not use it like a footnote to some otherwise minor detail in your argument. Just link to it with no explanation, or maybe say 'this is what I mean', or something equally vague, and then keep referring obliquely to the link in all subsequent comments.

17. 'Stop Quoting Me!': If the person starts trying to quote what you've written, or an article you linked to, just keep saying they don't understand, and that they are taking it out of context. Don't get caught up in trying to explain the context or telling them what you actually meant, just insist that they are being disingenuous and twisting your words.

18. Pick and Choose: So, they've written a long, involved response where they refute your points, pinpoint your errors, and assert that nothing you've said is actually relevant to the discussion--don't worry. Find one specific point, or joke, or offhand comment--it's usually best if you take it out of context--and respond only to that. Ignore everything else they've written, act like none of it exists, and then restate the same points they just refuted, as if they were still valid and unchallenged.

Take Down the Smarties
Now, it's alright to attack people who can't defend themselves, but to really get your juices flowing, you have to go after someone who really takes themselves seriously, preferably someone who reminds you of a certain authority figure from your youth whom you still hold a grudge against--probably someone who knows how to use the word 'whom'. There are a number of techniques we can use on them.

19. Spelling and Grammar: If you can't find any holes in their arguments, just start pointing out minor errors, and imply that these errors mean that their arguments are equally flawed. It doesn't matter that everyone (including you--especially you) makes these errors, you just want to concentrate on every negative thing, because they probably aren't going to throw you a lot of easy opportunities. Bring it up in later comments, try to characterize them with it.

20. Big Words: Always complain if they use any SAT words, or specific terms. Call them elitist, talk about the ivory tower and high horses. Say they're deliberately trying to confuse things. It doesn't matter that you're sitting at the most powerful research machine in the history of humanity and could look it up in an instant--always pretend not to know how dictionaries work.

21. 'You Think Too Much': Tell them that the only reason they didn't like the book is because they thought too much about it, and that it's really a very good book if you don't think about how crap it is.

22. 'That's a Lot of Effort for Something You Hate': Now, we all know very well that the top reviewers on GR are people with English degrees who think that writing a twenty-page paper with an eight-page bibliography is a fun way to spend a lazy afternoon. This means that generally, they're going to write more than a few sentences of response. Hence, it's important to paint them as being extremely invested in what they're doing, and suggesting that it must take them a huge amount of time to write their reviews and responses, even though they can probably knock out a couple of pages in fifteen minutes' time.

23. 'Why Are You Still Talking About It?' Always imply that they must be stupid to review a book that they didn't like, or to respond to comments on their own reviews. Pretend that, instead of you coming to their review and starting a discussion, they are the ones who wanted to discuss it with you.

They’re on you! It’s time to fight back!
Now, you don't want them to be able to get a hold of you, so you're going to have to use a lot of different techniques to try to shift focus away from yourself, and onto some good old-fashioned drama.

24. 'I Know You Are, But What Am I?': So, it looks like they just got in a pretty good zinger on you. Time for damage control. Just claim that whatever witty thing they just said, really it applies to them, not you. The best response to give is always'You saying that is the definition of irony', because only the smartest of people use the word 'irony'. Do not try to point out how or why it applies to them, or you might catch yourself up. As usual, it's best to just make a blanket implication and leave it at that.

25. 'The Last Word': Any time the conversation isn't going too well, and you need to bail, make sure to talk about them 'needing to get the last word' - despite the fact that you started the conversation and you've been responding every time, just like they have (because that's how a discussion works), insist that the only reason they are still going is because of 'the last word'. However, don't ever say this by itself, or they will let you have it. First make some new point or argument and then complain about 'the last word', so they either have to respond to what you've said, and prove you right, or not respond to it, thus giving you the last word.

26. 'Don't Bother Responding': The pre-emptive last word is always a great dick move: make your comment, demonstrating that you think it's of vital importance that everyone hear what you have to say, and then tell them not to respond--and that if they do, you won't read it, because you don't want to get into it. This lets them know that you think you are important, but no one else is, and if you do respond, it's only out of the kindness of your heart at their wrongheaded misunderstanding.

27. 'I Won't Be Commenting Again!': Really, you should use this on every post. Just make it clear that the whole conversation is so pointless and off-track that it's not worth your time, and you're going to take your ball and go home--but don't actually stop responding. If you want to mix it up, go silent for a week or a few months, and then start responding again as if nothing had happened.

So You’ve Made Your Comment. Now What?
These are meta-tricks that you can use to derail a conversation and make it nonsensical, so that all the time both you and the other commentator have already spent will be completely worthless.

28. Edit Your Comments: Do this weeks, months, or years later to change what you said. It doesn't matter that the date a comment was posted and the date it was edited are clearly visible on every post, nor that it makes you seem incoherent and nonsensical, nor that the other posters have already quoted you, so that it's perfectly clear what you said. Just turn it into a complete mess where no comment seems to bear a relationship to any other. It's also a great way to retract anything you said earlier to pretend it didn't exist, especially if you've already been proven wrong and made to look foolish.

29. Delete Your Comments: Hopefully your nemesis hasn't specifically quoted you in his posts, but even if he has, deleting all your comments is a great way to make the thread nonsensical and to take back anything you said that you now regret. Then, after you remove your comments, start making new posts where you claim that you made excellent arguments before, but then deleted them (for some reason).

30. Cheerleading: If you're starting to lose confidence, here's a simple trick: find another comment by a person who doesn't like the review, and quote them. Don't just pop in to support them briefly, don't expand upon the discussion, don't analyze the points, don't add any thoughts of your own, just pick a side and start cheering--pretend the argument's already been won, laugh at the misguidedness of anyone still arguing against your chosen champion, and whatever happens, don't stop. If you just keep patting each other on the back, there's no force in the world that can stop you.

31. Sock Puppets: If you can't find any actual other people who support you, just start making fake accounts and having them agree with you. Hopefully, this will make your subject feel like he is outnumbered, and he will beat a hasty retreat.

32. Start a New Thread, Somewhere Else: Find a different forum and then start posting about your conversation there, and use that to try to get other people on your side to help you feel better about yourself, or to anger other people by repeating the same argument and techniques as the original thread. Every time the tide turns against you, move to a different site and start over.

Culled from: http://starsbeetlesandfools..com.ng/2015/03/your-guide-to-terrible-goodreads.html

POP (Passing Out Parade) was awesome! It’s finally over and you can hardly wait to leave and get on your life. Your bags are already packed.

5 months later. Alawee is gone for good. You’ve submitted your CV in eleven establishments. Two were fake. Three said you were under-qualified. Three others said you were over-qualified.
You never heard back from the other three. Your eyes are dreary from moving from place to place and from one online job site to the other.

What’s more? You’re back in your parents’ house. But there’s really no space for you there anymore. You can tell from the look on their faces that they expect you to be the one sending money home to them not the other way around.

Sounds familiar?
It is not uncommon to find many graduates in Nigeria that have gone through (or are going through) the harrowing experience of unemployment (you’re not alone).

Finding a job can be rocket science largely because there are thousands of others like you chasing the few jobs available.
What do you if you find yourself in this situation? There is no magic solution. However, in this article we’ll consider six things you can do to navigate through this phase successfully.

Work on your CV
Perhaps the problem is with your CV. HR personnel make their decision on who to invite for interviews based on their CV so don’t underestimate it.
It’s your opportunity to showcase your potential value to the organization. No organization wants to hire a liability, they are looking out for people who can offer value, people who have what they need to meet their goals.
Ensure it is professionally written. It is also a good practice to adjust your CV to suit the role you are applying for rather than submit the same CV for every job application.
Edit it to emphasize the skills you possess that match the job description. It is also helpful to learn how to take an interview before you attend one. You can only do this by having mock interview sessions.

Begin somewhere
It may not be your dream job. It may seem “belittling” to your new status, but begin from there. At the least it will create monthly cash flow to meet your basic needs. Don’t stay idle.
However, it should be a job that’s flexible enough to enable you stay on the outlook for new opportunities and attend interviews.
Here’s one important tip: look for an organization you’ll like to work in and offer your services to them for free. When they see the value you add, they may decide to hire you. Many have gotten great jobs this way. So it works.

Get an Advanced Degree
Go for your Master’s degree or any other professional course that can boost your CV. That way you’re doing something to enhance your employability in the future.
Funding is however a common challenge here. You can take advantage of the numerous scholarship opportunities available. If you have money saved up already or are lucky enough to have parents still willing to foot the bills, good for you!
However, you should also have something doing by the side that generates cash flow. That’s what the next point is about.

Start your own Business
This may just be a good time to turn your passion into a source of income. It could be anything – fashion design, music, literature, art and design etc.
To find your passion, you only need to answer one question: what do you love doing so much that you can offer to others even without being paid?
To turn your passion into a business, there needs to be a market for what you’re offering. Find the problems you can solve and needs you can meet with what you have. Think outside the box. It may be an already existing business but you can bring something more into it.

Read. Stay Informed
Yes, there is no exam coming up. You still need to read. Become a lifelong learner. The economy of today is knowledge-driven. That’s common knowledge. The rate at which new information emerges on a daily basis is just astronomic.
Chances are that much of what you learnt in school has become yesterday’s knowledge and is no longer useful. That’s why you need to keep learning as long as you live!
Thankfully, you have a smartphone. You can do much more with it. It gives you access to vast knowledge all at your fingertips. Take advantage of it.
Keep learning, unlearning and relearning. Read wide. Beyond your field of study. Stay up-to-date with global trends. Don’t get old and rusty. Who knows, you may come across an idea; one powerful idea is enough to change the world and of course, earn you money.

Don’t lose hope
Yes, you read that right. It’s not a solution? Think again. It has been proven that one of the secrets of high achievers is their positive mental attitude. It is often the deciding factor between success and failure. Here’s an excellent resource to help you do just that.
While you wait, keep hope alive. Unemployment is not a death sentence. You’ve got life, you’ve got hope! Trust God. Stay positive. And yes, happiness is a choice. Choose to be happy.

Culled From: [url]aldroit.com.ng[/url]

POP (Passing Out Parade) was awesome! It’s finally over and you can hardly wait to leave and get on your life. Your bags are already packed.

5 months later. Alawee is gone for good. You’ve submitted your CV in eleven establishments. Two were fake. Three said you were under-qualified. Three others said you were over-qualified.
You never heard back from the other three. Your eyes are dreary from moving from place to place and from one online job site to the other.

What’s more? You’re back in your parents’ house. But there’s really no space for you there anymore. You can tell from the look on their faces that they expect you to be the one sending money home to them not the other way around.

Sounds familiar?
It is not uncommon to find many graduates in Nigeria that have gone through (or are going through) the harrowing experience of unemployment (you’re not alone).

Finding a job can be rocket science largely because there are thousands of others like you chasing the few jobs available.
What do you if you find yourself in this situation? There is no magic solution. However, in this article we’ll consider six things you can do to navigate through this phase successfully.

Work on your CV
Perhaps the problem is with your CV. HR personnel make their decision on who to invite for interviews based on their CV so don’t underestimate it.
It’s your opportunity to showcase your potential value to the organization. No organization wants to hire a liability, they are looking out for people who can offer value, people who have what they need to meet their goals.
Ensure it is professionally written. It is also a good practice to adjust your CV to suit the role you are applying for rather than submit the same CV for every job application.
Edit it to emphasize the skills you possess that match the job description. It is also helpful to learn how to take an interview before you attend one. You can only do this by having mock interview sessions.

Begin somewhere
It may not be your dream job. It may seem “belittling” to your new status, but begin from there. At the least it will create monthly cash flow to meet your basic needs. Don’t stay idle.
However, it should be a job that’s flexible enough to enable you stay on the outlook for new opportunities and attend interviews.
Here’s one important tip: look for an organization you’ll like to work in and offer your services to them for free. When they see the value you add, they may decide to hire you. Many have gotten great jobs this way. So it works.

Get an Advanced Degree
Go for your Master’s degree or any other professional course that can boost your CV. That way you’re doing something to enhance your employability in the future.
Funding is however a common challenge here. You can take advantage of the numerous scholarship opportunities available. If you have money saved up already or are lucky enough to have parents still willing to foot the bills, good for you!
However, you should also have something doing by the side that generates cash flow. That’s what the next point is about.

Start your own Business
This may just be a good time to turn your passion into a source of income. It could be anything – fashion design, music, literature, art and design etc.
To find your passion, you only need to answer one question: what do you love doing so much that you can offer to others even without being paid?
To turn your passion into a business, there needs to be a market for what you’re offering. Find the problems you can solve and needs you can meet with what you have. Think outside the box. It may be an already existing business but you can bring something more into it.

Read. Stay Informed
Yes, there is no exam coming up. You still need to read. Become a lifelong learner. The economy of today is knowledge-driven. That’s common knowledge. The rate at which new information emerges on a daily basis is just astronomic.
Chances are that much of what you learnt in school has become yesterday’s knowledge and is no longer useful. That’s why you need to keep learning as long as you live!
Thankfully, you have a smartphone. You can do much more with it. It gives you access to vast knowledge all at your fingertips. Take advantage of it.
Keep learning, unlearning and relearning. Read wide. Beyond your field of study. Stay up-to-date with global trends. Don’t get old and rusty. Who knows, you may come across an idea; one powerful idea is enough to change the world and of course, earn you money.

Don’t lose hope
Yes, you read that right. It’s not a solution? Think again. It has been proven that one of the secrets of high achievers is their positive mental attitude. It is often the deciding factor between success and failure. Here’s an excellent resource to help you do just that.
While you wait, keep hope alive. Unemployment is not a death sentence. You’ve got life, you’ve got hope! Trust God. Stay positive. And yes, happiness is a choice. Choose to be happy.

Culled From: [url]aldroit.com.ng[/url]