• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, February 27, 2009

Last week, Facebook had to retreat from a change to its terms of service after users complained that the new policies violated their privacy. That wasn't the first user revolt on Facebook, but it might be the last, if a new initiative by CEO Mark Zuckerberg succeeds.

Zuckerberg this week announced that the site will ask for user input on changes in advance. Majority will rule, provided at least 30% of the site's active users participate.

The move certainly is unusual -- quite possibly unprecedented. Still, it's far from clear that Facebook users will be motivated enough to participate -- especially since doing so would require sorting through a 3,000-word proposed statement of rights and responsibilities.

Zuckerberg obviously hopes that asking users to weigh in on changes will break a now familiar cycle: Facebook imposes a change in terms, sparking a user rebellion, which results in the site's public retreat.

A few years ago, when the site began pushing out status changes and other updates via news feeds, some users seethed over the perceived privacy violation. Within hours, members started a new group, "Students Against Facebook Newsfeed," that drew hundreds of thousands of members. It took only two days for Facebook to announce it would modify the feature to give users more control over the feeds.

Then, in late 2007, user protests forced Facebook to back away from its ill-fated Beacon program -- a marketing initiative that told members about their friends' purchases from sites like Overstock and Zappos.

Last week, Facebook made headlines when a blog pointed out the site had changed its terms of service and was now claiming perpetual ownership of photos, posts and other material uploaded by users. Zuckerberg said that was never his intention, despite the wording of the new terms of service. The site then reverted to its former terms.

Facebook has grown to 145 million members very quickly, but users can be fickle. There's no guarantee that those members will continue to frequent the site -- and imposing high-handed, unpopular changes doesn't seem like the best way to encourage loyalty.

Asking users for their input can't hurt Facebook, and might go a long way toward keeping them happy.