/ Xeni Jardin / 8:07 am Sun Aug 8, 2010

Proposed Facebook icon for "meh" (as opposed to "like")

Via the BB Submitterator, Boing Boing reader obeyken says, "I know that man-about-Internet John Hodgman has come out strongly against the whole "Meh" thing, but I couldn't help whipping this up."

A Proposed Facebook "Meh" Button.

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  1. Instead of “meh”, which denotes full-on apathy, I went with the variant “bleh” on my forum.

    It fully conveys the apathy, with an added bonus tinge of dislike (as in blah, or bleargh).

    I haven’t made an icon yet, though :)

  2. I think they need an “I feel for ya” button. How often has someone written “I had a crappy day!” and you didn’t want to “like” that because that’s just mean, but were too lazy to comment?

    1. That’s a good idea – a sympathy button. Although some might say that if you really felt sympathy, you’d actually post a comment. Who has time for that, though?

      I also disagree with Hodgman, but just on principle, because he’s become a sacred cow.

  3. I love the concept, but why would you take the time to label something ‘Meh’ if that’s how you felt about it? Isn’t that like raising your hand to tell your teacher you have ‘no comment’?

    As for the liking a sad post, they probably should change the button to a ‘I support this’ sort of concept. That would be more universally appropriate.

    1. “Meh” is more like saying “Hey everyone, look at me! I don’t care about this. Pretty cool, right?”

      So yeah, you’re right that if you actually didn’t care, you wouldn’t post or click on anything, and move on with your life.

  7. I find myself rent upon the crags of a most vexing second-order ambivalence: not merely ambivalent about this present issue, which surely I am, but further ambivalent of ambivalence itself, not possessed of an opinion, and yet gripped by an overwhelming need to communicate the absence, to affect my unaffection, as it were. I do not find this matter important, but whether others may know the manner in which I find it is quite another matter indeed!

    Woe be to any mere mortal who attempts, as I have inadequately attempted herein, to express so rich and nuanced a mental state as this. It must indubitably tax the very limits of our species’ paltry lexicographical legerdemain.

      1. Ambivalence and apathy are very different things. Ambivalence is simultaneous, conflicting feelings, whereas apathy is an absence of emotion or enthusiasm. Mixed feelings do not simply balance out to neutral.

        1. True. I suppose I overlooked that so that I could tie Gelfin’s comment into my preceding one. :-P

  11. Isn’t that already the icon for “where’s my expected tip?” I’ll leave it to other posters to come up with less savory meanings…

    1. I thought it was the “may I have this dance” icon, but I suppose that would be a bit highbrow for the site that invented “throw a sheep at ____.”

  12. The Pro-Meh forces will always conquer anti-Meh forces. Whereas the Pro-Meh care about not caring the Anti-Meh don’t care about not caring.

    But I’m old. It was always “Feh” when I was a young twerp on the BBS.

  14. The comment I find curious is “I don’t find this funny at all.” It is useless on so many levels. Perhaps the icon could be a scowling clown face.

  15. People who write for the Internets are not talking into the void to aid the personal contemplation of private thoughts. If that were the case, a journal kept under the pillow would be more appropriate. Instead, these writers broadcast opinions and information to an enormous potential audience in order to invite a response.

    While it is more gentlemanly to be silent in response to a speaker whose topic one finds dis-interesting rather than tell the speaker that s/he is dull, the Internets are not known for gentlemen.

    The meh response is valid, if rude.

    1. The meh response is valid, if rude.

      It’s like answering a call-in poll with “no opinion” or writing a letter to the editor to complain that a particular article wasn’t interesting enough to grab your attention. It’s not just rude, it’s downright confounding.

  17. Fry trying to choose a political party:

    Fry: “Now here’s a party I can get excited about. Sign me up!”

    Apathy Party Guy: “Sorry, not with that attitude.”

    Fry: “Ok, then screw it.”

    Apathy Party Guy: “Welcome aboard, brother!”

    Fry: “All right!”

    Apathy Party Guy: “You’re out.”

  18. I disagree with Hodgman on this, or at least think that he might be reserving his hatred of “meh” in the context of twitter responses, where the users really don’t need to be there in the first place most of the time. There are other forums for which it would apply also.

    I think it’s an efficient way to show disinterest though when you’re actually part of a conversation and being asked to show an opinion.

    For example:

    A: “How’d your interview go yesterday?”
    B: “Meh…”

    Simple and gives most of the information you need. Sure, you could expand on it with some more detail, but you’ve already established that it had some issues, and depending on tone you can even convey a bit more info.

    Back on topic, I think a Facebook version falls in the unnecessary category.

  19. Not to over-explain myself, but for the record, I tend towards the anti-meh camp (Hodgman, I thought, put it very eloquently). The idea of an actual clickable icon to express one’s indifference is completely absurd.

  20. But ‘meh’ is nowhere near as IRRITATING as the way that HODGMAN guy keeps SHOUTING all the time.

    1. Brett- yeah it is, isn’t it. I think it’s because I traced an actual photo of my hand, which I took at a fairly close range with my laptop’s built-in camera, so everything is overly foreshortened. Also, I have elephantitis of the thumb.

  24. It really bothers me that the thumb is in front. If you were to actually see someone making that gesture, the thumb would be on the back. That button does not say “meh”, it says, “have a sandwich”.

  26. this idea is very clever, I wish I thought of doing it. A whole series of *flick on borg talk switch, emotional responses should be done. Don’t stop with hands, lay down the balls! That’s an easy graphic to make, its two circles. I love the word troll, that, too, should be an icon.

  29. I just created this type of button for my own company website. This option would be amazing to rate companies and products.

    The best facebook addition would be to put on your status when you de-friend people. That’d be next level.

  30. I like meh. It is easily one of the most descriptive words that one can use. It conveys a pretty complex emotional response to something in three little letters that every one understands, but struggles to articulate. I think it actually fills a gaping word gap in the English language. If you ask my response to a movie and i respond with meh, you know exactly how I felt about the movie, but might find it hard to articulate that full emotion in words. To me, that implies that our language is the problem and meh is the solution.

    As to this particular Facebook icon…

    Meh.

  31. I don’t think “meh” will mean much to most English speakers outside of North America. Why be US-centric if you want to attract a larger international audience?

    But if you’re reaction to a post is indeed one of apathy or being unimpressed, then I suggest leaving NO feedback. There’s nothing like a post whose “like” counter is very low to suggest lack of interest or quality. By pressing a “meh” button, you are actually giving time and attention to a post that never deserved it in the first place.

  33. Don’t like it, it looks more like “gimme” (hand out).

    Meh should be the palm up in the air, slightly tilted back (as in hand over the shoulder, blowing the topic off).

  35. I feel like “meh” on the internet has become more than sheer indifference or snark.

    Frequently now, hits or views are the way we judge pages, and pages advertise those stats to attract more viewers. When you take the time to read something, and it’s boring or lame or lackluster, you want to register your disapproval, but it’s not worth your time to fully explain why you feel the way you do. Hence meh: quick, easy, dismissive.

    You could spend 5 minutes writing a reply refuting this theory, or you could just quote it, say meh, and give me the same idea.

    It’s the angry cousin of TLDR. More like, DRDCWoT: did read, didn’t care, waste of time.

  36. There should be a button thats the opposite of “like”

    Example, theres a product thats very very bad, and it has a facebook page. Millions of people click on the like button because thats the only way to release their feelings, by posting profanity and insults on the facebook page.

    Then the advertising company that tries to sell that product showing a screenshot where millions of people supposedly “like” their product

  37. well i am kind of like the word, because in my language ( Bahasa Melayu) or malay language it means “Come over” or “join us”…

  39. You don’t have to make any response to every status update or post, so I don’t need a meh button. If you feel “meh” about it, you can just not hit “like” or don’t leave a comment.

    I think an “acknowledged” button might be nice,though. For times when the status isn’t something positive enough for “like” to be appropriate or seriously negative enough to warrant a comment of real concern, but you still want them to know that you read it and acknowlege it.

    “Meh” seems more like an “I don’t care about your post, but want to make sure you notice I exist” button. “Acknowledged” would be more of an ” I don’t care too much about supporting this particular statement, but do care about you.” button.

  40. I wanna ‘like’ your ‘meh’ button, although I think it should be an ‘aight’ button :)

  41. @Beryllium I’ll bet if you flipped the ‘meh’ button it would make a pretty good ‘bleh’ button, a nice casually distasteful shooing off.

  42. That icon doesn’t say “meh” to me. It says “my body language is completely unrelated to yours, and unreadable to you.” I can’t read any meaning into that hand, or a reserved hand, or a tilted palm, or any of the other things people have mentioned here.

  45. The “meh” cultural meme has long since passed its peak – the people using it now are the same people who only recently stopped Snoop Doggin’ their “fo shizzle” punctuations.

    And has this person ever been ON facebook? Maybe he’s blessed with a clique of social networkers with a high rate of insight, humor and wit… but most of us, the mediocre content represents over half of facebook.

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