Humor Issue: Facebook will now allow creative relationship statuses (or stati)

In order to better reflect the reality of today's dating scene, Facebook.com has announced changes this morning that allow users to customize their own relationship status, giving an entirely new meaning to "Facebook official."

On top of that, Facebook now allows users to list their relationships with others without Facebook profiles and without approval, opening the door for users to list themselves as "In a Relationship" with zombies, werewolves, vampires and celebrities, to name a few.

Already, students at Ohio University have embraced the new concept, with statuses saying "So and So (not real name) is now drunkenly sexting So and So" (not real name) and "So and So (not real name) is now obsessed with Megan Fox."

The new status option was spurred by complaints from Facebook users who felt that the original "Single," "In a Relationship With," "It's Complicated With," "In an Open Relationship With," "Married," "Engaged" and "Widowed" exclude various other forms of intimate interaction, said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder.

"Basically, our users want to be able to decide for themselves what their relationship status is," Zuckerberg said. "Most of the complaints came from college students who told us that their relationship realities are very different, but they still want those realities to be able to be Facebook official."

Facebook's new relationship statuses have a 60-character limit, excluding the names. All a user has to do is click "Edit" like he or she would normally do, but now a box appears to enter the customized status where the previous status choices used to be.

"I'm so glad I can finally accurately reflect my passion for zombies," said Sarah Snivelhoss, an OU sophomore from Lewisburg, Ohio. "I immediately changed my status to 'Sarah Snivelhoss spends her nights with the undead.'"

But some other students are questioning whether or not this is a slippery slope. OU senior Jesse Milquetoast complained that the change is just further cluttering Facebook and trying to conform to people who want to be different.

"This is just taking things too far," Milquetoast said. "People who want to be in a relationship with Edward Cullen need help. I just don't get why some people can't be normal, in normal relationships, with real people."

But others who've embraced the change suggest that people like Milquetoast are being closed-minded. People today, particularly college students, are moving away from traditional relationships, yet they are having relationships nonetheless, and those should be recognized, said Becky Meatplatter, an OU senior who described herself as an "avid" Facebook user.

"Being 'In a Relationship' or 'It's Complicated' with someone doesn't really do it anymore," Meatplatter said. "It's not 'Complicated' with my friend Greg and me. We're simply hooking up when drunk, not 'Complicated' and not 'In an Open Relationship.' We aren't ashamed of that, and it should be on record with our friends what we're doing."

Facebook now is looking into adding multiple partners to the relationship status option as well, according to Zuckerberg, which would open the door for statuses like, "So and So (not real name) is sleeping with So and So (not real name) and is engaged to So and So (not real name)."

"It's all about freedom," Zuckerberg added. "People need to be as sexually uninhibited as possible, and we want Facebook to help facilitate that." - Chelsea E. Toy