text: People have asked whether Facebook would make a "Dislike" button for years, and for years Facebook has said that it wouldn't. It's kind of obvious why this cycle happens: there's a natural impulse to want to see a "Dislike" button next to Facebook's ubiquitous Like button, but there are also some real problems with that. Facebook doesn't want people using "Dislike" as a way to harass or disrespect other people, and — more cynically — you can argue that it certainly doesn't want people Disliking the sponsored posts that companies pay to put in your News Feed. (On a similar note, please don't forget to Like this article.) 
   
   "[We] are very close to shipping a test of it." 
   
   That all said, Facebook has apparently had a change of heart. It's making a Dislike button — or something like it — and it's apparently going to head into testing soon. "People have asked about the 'Dislike' button for many years ... and today is a special day, because today is the day that I actually get to say we are working on it and are very close to shipping a test of it," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said today during a public Q&A session, according to CNBC. 
   
   There aren't a lot of details beyond that, but Zuckerberg says that Facebook's goal is to implement the button in a way that makes it a tool to "express empathy" — as in, to Dislike a sad moment that a friend shared — than a way to hurt someone. So while Zuckerberg may have called it a "Dislike" button, what Facebook is building may approximate better to a button for sharing compassion when a thumbs up is socially inappropriate. 
   
   "We don't want to turn Facebook into a forum where people are voting up or down on people's posts," Zuckerberg said. "That doesn't seem like the kind of community that we want to create: you don't want to go through the process of sharing some moment that was important to you in your day and have someone downvote it." Basically, he doesn't want to turn Facebook into Reddit, which, given Reddit's recent troubles, seems like a solid course of action. 
   
   Update September 15th, 4:55PM ET: This story has been updated to elaborate on how Facebook could implement "Dislike" in ways other than as an explicit button. 
   
   Verge Video: Changes are coming to Facebook ||||| After years of speculation and member requests, Facebook is finally working on a Dislike button, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said. But it's probably not exactly what you think. 
   
   Zuckerberg said the feature will be coming soon during a town hall meeting on Tuesday at the company's California headquarters. However, he also said it wouldn't be a way for users to "downvote" posts and instead would let users express other emotions besides the inferred positivity of the Like button. 
   
   See also: 14 honest Facebook buttons that need to exist 
   
   "People have asked about the 'dislike' button for many years, and probably hundreds of people have asked about this, and today is a special day because today is the day that I actually get to say we are working on it, and are very close to shipping a test of it," Zuckerberg said, according to a CNBC report. 
   
   Zuckerberg added that the company has held off on a Dislike button to avoid becoming a Reddit-style system that encouraged upvoting and downvoting, according to reports. 
   
   "What they really want is the ability to express empathy. Not every moment is a good moment," he said. 
   
   Regardless of its intent, a Dislike button used across the board on Facebook would have a dramatic effect on the service, so in all likelihood, "disliking" something will be one of many Like alternatives, and users will probably have a say over which ones will happen. It would be a large departure from positive persona Facebook has adopted with features like Moments, which serves up old, happy memories in a user's timeline. 
   
   Considering Facebook is by far the largest driver of traffic to news publications, this feature has the potential to be a big deal. When a Dislike button becomes a reality, companies and users would have to radically shift the strategy of what they post. 
   
   Speaking at a similar town hall Q&A in December, Zuckerberg said that a Dislike button is a tricky proposition. 
   
   See also: The Facebook Like Button Could Have Been Green 
   
   "We need to figure out the right way to do it so it ends up being a force for good, not a force for bad," he said at the time. "Everyone feels like they can just push the Like button, and that's an important way to sympathize or empathize with someone," Zuckerberg said "But there are times when you may want the simplicity of a one-click response but a "like" doesn't feel appropriate." 
   
   Especially in light of the recent brouhaha at Reddit, a Dislike button would be a challenge for Facebook to roll out. 
   
   Update — 4:45 p.m. ET: This story was updated to reflect the ambiguity of Zuckerberg's comments.
target: – People have been calling for it for years, and Mark Zuckerberg said at a company town hall meeting today that a "dislike" button is finally coming to Facebook. "People have asked about the 'dislike' button for many years, and probably hundreds of people have asked about this, and today is a special day because today is the day that I actually get to say we are working on it, and are very close to shipping a test of it," Zuck said, per CNBC. The concept is tricky, he explained, because "we don't want to turn Facebook into a forum where people are voting up or down on people's posts," as they do on, for example, Reddit. "That doesn't seem like the kind of community that we want to create: You don't want to go through the process of sharing some moment that was important to you in your day and have someone 'downvote' it." What people "really want is the ability to express empathy," he said, per Mashable. "Not every moment is a good moment. ... If you are sharing something that is sad, then it may not feel comfortable to 'like' that post." Zuckerberg says Facebook expects to start testing soon, then launching a wider roll-out. As Mashable notes, the move could have big implications: "When a Dislike button becomes a reality, companies and users would have to radically shift the strategy of what they post." And as The Verge notes, "Facebook doesn't want people using 'Dislike' as a way to harass or disrespect other people, and—more cynically—you can argue that it certainly doesn't want people Disliking the sponsored posts that companies pay to put in your News Feed." Indeed, Zuck said back in December that any such button would have to be "a force for good, not a force for bad."