Already, we've started removing regional networks as filters in News Feed. We found that few people were using the regional network filters, choosing filters for their schools, workplaces and Friend Lists instead to surface interesting and relevant information.

Over the next few weeks, we'll be removing other uses for regional networks. If you've ever created a group or event and set it so that only members of a certain regional network could join, that group or event will now become open to everyone. If you're a group or event administrator, we'll notify you through a message at the top of the group or event page so you can change the access level if you want.

For the 50 percent or so of people who have joined regional networks, we'll eventually be moving information about those networks to your profile so that you can still tell people where you live. If your regional network is a city, for example, it will be listed in the "Current City" field. If it's a region or country, it will be listed in a new "Current Region" field. This information will continue to appear in search results so that it's just as easy as before to find the people you know.

We're glad that so many of you around the world have made Facebook a part of your lives, and we hope this change improves your experience on the site.


Paul McDonald, an engineer, is saying goodbye to the Silicon Valley network.