Facebook is Testing 'Reactions'; a Like/Dislike Button with Even More Emotions

[dgstorm]

Here at Droidforums (and several other sites) we have had a wide range of possible responses to forum posts for some time. Nowadays, you can go well beyond just a "like" or "dislike" functionality, and do it very easily across the web. That's what makes it all the more puzzling that it has taken Facebook so long to implement something beyond a single "Like" button.

It sounds like Zuckerberg and Co. have finally listened to Facebook consumers' complaints about this this issue and are working on a solution. Supposedly Facebook is testing out something called "Reactions," and it will basically be a "like/dislike" series of buttons which will give folks a wide range of emotions to choose from when "grading" a post. Here's a quote with more of the details,

The change is just another way to express your feelings about what friends or family post, but a welcome one, given that not everything shared on the social network is appropriate for a "like". This means even life's less glossy moments can finally have a more suitable response. Good old like remains, of course, but along with icons that show love, laughter, cheeky smiles, shock anger and, well, we're sure there'll be an extensive/ever growing list of options. The ability to "react" with gifs and or emoji has become increasingly common with social platforms and news sites (like Buzzfeed), and in some cases, it's the only way to communicate -- so it's not surprising Facebook is joining in.

The new reactions will apply to user posts and those from "pages" alike, with a breakdown of which responses each missive received. Although in Ad Manager, all reactions will still be considered as a "like" for now. ~ Engadget

It seems like Facebook could have been working on this some time ago, but at least the world's largest Social Network is still evolving.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

I think this is a fair balance between users wanting a dislike button and people just using it to troll others. Zuckerberg said when they first announced that they were working on this that he wanted it to be a way to convey sympathy/etc., not just a "Hey I don't like this" button. I think this gets that across.

Personally, I like to use sticker comments to do something similar. I prefer the cat ones. Especially the cat playing with the yarn.