Mark Zuckerberg scraps the Facebook "dislike" button for good.
The Facebook "dislike" button has been an ongoing request from users of the social media, but Mark Zuckerberg recently resolved the issue: the "dislike" button is all but scrapped. Zuckerberg is considering alternatives which express a broader range of emotions, though.
The announcement came as part of Facebook's second town hall event at the company headquarters in Menlo Park, accompanied by online stream. Questions were taken from the Internet and from the attending audience, which covered the social site's privacy policy and international availability of search, among others.
"Some people have asked for a dislike button before. They want to be able to say that a thing isn't good and that's not something that we think is good. ... So we're not going to build that. I don't think there needs to be a voting mechanism on Facebook whether posts are good or bad. I don't think that's socially very valuable."
Zuckerberg comments adding a Facebook "dislike" button can be toxic for the community; the feature can change the site into a popularity contest or poll for every post. The "dislike" button can also be abused or used recklessly.
Earlier this year, Facebook confirmed it has conducted an experiment on some 700,000 users without their consent or knowledge, tweaking the content of News Feeds in an attempt to determine if the trends affect their moods.
"What's the right way to make it so people can easily express a broader range of emotions, to empathize. Or to express surprise or laughter or any of these things. ... There's something that's so simple about the like button. ... But we need to figure out the right way to do it so it ends up being a force for good."
In place of the Facebook "dislike" button, the social site will feature "positive" alternatives; there will also be a "call to action" button, which allows users direct access to business websites or donate to a cause with one click. The feature is expected to provide information on users' activity outside of the social media site (computerworld.com).
