Despite drastic redesign, Facebook Poke is still there

In the wake of its most drastic redesign yet, one of the "silliest" features of social networking giant Facebook —the poke— is still very much around, albeit hidden away. Poke, which users previously accessed as a button to say hello or trigger a poke war with friends, is now hidden in a drop-down button with a gear icon. Facebook did not immediately give any reason for "hiding" the Poke button in its help page. But an article on tech site CNET noted the "banishment" came amid major changes at Facebook. It noted Facebook in recent weeks had rolled out subscriptions and smart lists. CNET also cited reports of a complete overhaul to profiles that may be unveiled at the f8 developers conference. "So it could be that pokes are getting hidden to make way for new functions, but aren’t we all surprised that a feature that tends to be used primarily as a tool for irony and/or harassment has even lasted this long? Let’s just hope it isn’t being relocated to make room for a new 'spank' feature," it said. — TJD, GMA News