Facebook added a suicide prevention tool on Tuesday that allows users to tag posts that express suicidal thoughts and helps suicidal users connect with a counselor.

Friends will now be able to report suicidal behavior by clicking on a report option next to the post in question. Facebook's safety team will review the reports and then sends them to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Facebook also sends an email to the user who posted the suicidal post. The email includes Lifeline's phone number, a message urging the user to call the number and a link to a confidential online chat session with a crisis worker.

"Although the Lifeline on average handles 70,000 calls per month, we have heard from our Facebook fans and others that there are many people in crisis who don't feel comfortable picking up the phone," John Draper, Lifeline's project director, said in a press statement. "This new service provides a way for them to get the help they need in the way they want it."

Facebook also sends an e-mail to the user who filed the report to let them know that site has taken the appropriate action.

The option to report suicidal users will undoubtedly help many but there are still some concerns about the program. For one thing the option could be abused by users who could use it to harass other users by reporting their posts as suicidal. Teenagers could tag posts as suicidal as a joke adding more reports for Facebook to assess.

The decision also raises the question of how accurate a user can read a post as suicidal. Will a pissed off post about work warrant a report to the Lifeline? Some users may just exaggerate their distress because of the social environment. Reporting a user could also have consequences. Since Facebook is a public forum, any information shared on the site could be damaging to a user's reputation.

Of course the program is still new so there's still room to form accountability measures. The important thing for users to remember is to be careful about tagging any post as suicidal. Users shouldn't rely too much on Facebook to reach out to friends in need. Sometimes it's more important to be there in person rather than tagging a post online.