Will Facebook add a “Dislike” button?

Soon, you might be able to express your dislike of a friend’s politics with more than just a frowny face or a few words.

According to the powers that be at Facebook, the company is considering adding a “Dislike” button to the platform. To this point, folks have only been able to “Like” things, which users have criticized for years.

But Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg–or “M-Zuck,” as he is increasingly known–thinks it might be time to introduce at least binary approach to stuff.

Speaking at the company’s offices in stately Menlo Park CA, M-Zuck said the button probably wouldn’t be called “Dislike,” but that the intent is to offer users a broader range of options.

“We need to figure out the right way to do it,” said Zuckers, “so [the button] ends up being a force for good, not a force for bad.”

What exactly he meant by “force for good” wasn’t clear. But he did clarify his and the company’s rationale:

 

The Like button is really valuable because it’s a way for you to very quickly express a positive emotion or sentiment when someone puts themselves out there and shares something. And, you know, some people have asked for a Dislike button because they want to be able to say ‘That thing isn’t good’. And that’s not something that we think is good for the world. So we’re not going to build that….But the thing that I think is very valuable is there are more sentiments that people want to express than positivity or that they Like something. You know, a lot of times, people share things on Facebook that are sad moments in their lives, or are tough cultural or social things, and often people tell us that they don’t feel comfortable press[ing] Like because Like isn’t the appropriate sentiment when someone lost a loved one or is talking about a very difficult issue.

 

So: a mixed bag, as is often the case with the world’s largest social media network. Expanding folks’ means of expression is good, but the company still gets to decide how much expression you can have, and in which directions you can have it. Not quite the hamstringing Eric Blair addresses, but not a step away from that, either.

As for us? We’re still waiting for a “Boo this man” feature.

What do you think, Facebook users of the world? Which other options do you think would be helpful and / or benefit mankind, in addition to the ever-present “Like” button? What should Facebook add?