In recent interviews, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg has addressed the social network's "like" button, which users can use to quickly acknowledge posts or messages—but which also lacks a certain amount of nuance for more sensitive or sad content. As recently as December, Zuckerberg said that he wasn't interested in a "dislike" button, but a Tuesday "town hall" Q&A saw the cofounder change his tune.
“People have asked about the dislike button for many years," Zuckerberg told a crowd on Tuesday at Facebook's Menlo Park office (and a livestream crowd at the event's official site). "We’ve finally heard you, and we’re working on this."
Like in prior interviews, Zuckerberg commented on fears that a form of "dislike" button would be used to "downvote" posts à la Reddit, but on Tuesday, he acknowledged growing interest in a simple interaction that better fits sad posts—he mentioned topics ranging from personal trauma to international tragedies—that offers "the ability to express empathy."
Zuckerberg didn't confirm the exact name of the feature, nor its expected ship date, but based on repeated concerns about "downvote" culture, we expect something with a nuanced name—much like how the "like" button was previously known as the "awesome" button.
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