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. ||||| CLOSE The "like" button has evolved. Facebook unveiled five animated emojis you can choose instead of just the standard "like", including love, haha, wow, sad and angry. VPC 
 
 Facebook is rolling out Reactions, new emoji to express emotions beyond "like" on the social network. (Photo: Facebook) 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO — Here's something you might love: You don't have to just "like" Facebook posts anymore. 
 
 By popular demand, Facebook is going beyond the ubiquitous thumbs-up button with a new shorthand to express your thoughts and feelings. 
 
 Acknowledging that "like" isn't the right sentiment for every occasion, the giant social network is offering new options. Reactions, five emoting emojis, started rolling out to Facebook's nearly 1.6 billion users around the globe Wednesday. 
 
 With a click of a button, you can choose from new emotions when commenting on a status update. Hold the "like" button on mobile or hover over the like button on desktop and five animated emojis pop up. Tap on love, haha, wow, sad or angry to express your reaction. Posts in News Feed will now show a tally of the reactions — how many loves, how many wows — a post gets. 
 
 Make no mistake: Reactions are not designed to capture the full range of human emotions. No meh or trash, Facebook wants to give people a fast and simple way to express thoughts or feelings in a positive, supportive way, not to create a way to troll friends and others on the giant social network. 
 
 "Not every moment you want to share is happy," CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post. "Sometimes you want to share something sad or frustrating. Our community has been asking for a dislike button for years, but not because people want to tell friends they don't like their posts. People want to express empathy and make it comfortable to share a wider range of emotions." 
 
 CLOSE Facebook introduced new ways to express yourself beyond just a "like" button. Jefferson Graham gets reaction to the new Facebook Reactions from consumers. 
 
 Love, says Zuckerberg, is the most popular reaction so far. 
 
 Facebook says it conducted research for more than a year, tapping focus groups and surveys and poring over short one- to three-word comments, emojis or in virtual stickers to determine the emotions people most commonly want to express. 
 
 The winners were the five emojis that translated to cultures around the globe. One emoji, yay, was rejected for not being universal enough. 
 
 "We have been very intentional about really understanding what people are trying to communicate on Facebook right now and how can we make that easier," said Tom Alison, engineering director of News Feed. 
 
 For years, Facebook resisted giving users an alternative to the "like" button, namely a "dislike" button. But the lobbying only intensified as more people used Facebook on mobile devices and clamored for quicker and easier ways to comment. 
 
 One of the emotions Facebook users can now express with an emoji: sadness. (Photo: Facebook) 
 
 Gartner Research analyst Brian Blau says the demand for a "dislike button" reflected frustration with not having more choices beyond like. 
 
 "What these emoji do is give greater granularity in expressing what you are thinking and feeling about something that was posted on Facebook," Blau said. 
 
 Will Facebook eventually give users more emotional bandwidth? 
 
 CLOSE Students from The Quality Life Center in Fort Myers, Fla., bring Facebook's new reactions, Wow, Sad, Haha, Angry and Love to life. Kinfay Moroti/news-press.com 
 
 "We would consider it if it feels like that's going to be something that fulfills a need," Alison said. "We've wanted to make sure the product is lightweight, simple and understandable. The more reactions we add, the more complicated it gets." 
 
 Facebook announced in October that it would begin testing Reactions in Ireland and Spain. The test expanded to other countries such as Chile, the Philippines, Portugal and Colombia. 
 
 Facebook says it made adjustments to the feature based on feedback and will continue to refine the product as it rolls out more widely. 
 
 "This is not the end. Whenever we launch something globally, we learn a lot and we improve the product. We listen to the feedback from everyone using it," Alison said. 
 
 The five emotions on Facebook: Like, love, haha, wow, sad and angry. (Photo: Facebook) 
 
 Emojis are increasingly prevalent in digital culture. Already Facebook users around the globe routinely interact via emojis on Facebook and in other social and messaging apps, particularly in Asia where the expressive icons are a core part of the daily experience on Line and WeChat. 
 
 The Reactions emojis could benefit Facebook, giving the data-driven company even greater insight into what interests users, which in turn could help inform what status updates and advertisements they see. Eventually content producers and publishers will get more granular detail on how people are responding emotionally to posts. 
 
 So how are Facebook users reacting to Reactions? 
 
 Better #FacebookReactions: 
 
 -existential dread 
 
 -seething jealousy 
 
 -mirthless joy 
 
 -endless screaming 
 
 -Wait, this is my list of perfume names — Joseph Scrimshaw (@JosephScrimshaw) February 24, 2016 
 
 #FacebookReactions are amusing. So far the angriest reaction is about bottled water. — Katherine Morrison (@kmorrison) February 24, 2016 
 
 Follow USA TODAY senior technology writer Jessica Guynn @jguynn 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1TFvxEE
– 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."