Facebook users have long called for a "dislike" button to be added on the social networking site, and now the company is sort of giving them what they want. Sort of. It's not a dislike button, but something that Facebook hopes will satisfy the users' need to hide unfavourable posts.

The Web site already has an option for people to hide a person’s posts from their feed if they want to see less updates from that person. Users can also adjust the frequency of updates they want to appear on their feed from specific people or pages.

However, it doesn’t have an option for people to hide specific content from their feed. Perhaps they don’t want to hide particular individuals but just some kinds of content that they post.

So now Facebook has announced that it is working to give its customers more satisfactory options.

“Over the next few months what you will see from us is more on why people like and don’t like certain things in their feed,” Fidji Simo, the product manager for Ads for Facebook, told ABC News. “We are planning to refine those so users can tell us exactly the reasons they are hiding that piece of content.”

Not revealing the specifics on the new development, Ms Simo said that users can expect the changes over the next three to four months.

“If a lot of people start reporting that something is offensive, it’s something we would probably not show to a lot more users. If you tell us that something is uninteresting we would show you less about that, but we wouldn’t use that signal with other users.”

The upcoming feature isn’t just for the users, however. It is also for the advertisers. Ms Simo said that the changes will help Facebook feed its users more relevant ads that they would want to click.

A similar filtering system is already being implemented on ads. Users can choose to hide an ad from the right rail of the Web site, and report to Facebook why they want that ad hidden.

Since no other details were given, one can just assume that the new feature would not include Facebook telling people that their posts are hidden from others. Some users who call for the addition of “dislike” button want to let others know that they dislike their posts. However, the company has been unyielding in its stance not to include negativity on Facebook.

“Actions on Facebook tend to focus on positive social interactions. Like is the lightest-weight way to express positive sentiment,” Bob Baldwin, Facebook product engineer told Reddit users in April.

“I don’t think adding a light-weight way to express negative sentiment would be that valuable. I know there are times when it’d make sense, like when a friend is having a rough day, or got into a car accident like my sister yesterday (she’s okay!). For these times, a nice comment from a friend goes a long way.”

More Tech News:
Porn To Be Automatically Blocked Online In The UK, Prime Minister David Cameron Announces [Read]
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/493555/20130723/david-cameron-uk-porn-online-internet-filter.htm

PokerStars and 888 Poker Apps Takn Down From Australian Apple App Store [Read]
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/490725/20130716/apple-app-store-poker-gambling-interactive-act.htm

Nokia Unveils Newest Lumia 1020 With Killer Camera Feature [Read]
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/489388/20130712/nokia-lumia-1020-pureview-pro-camera-smart.htm

RELATED STORIES