After receiving an onslaught of dislike, the billionaire co-founder of Facebook earned a lot of “likes” on the social media platform and beyond Friday after announcing he’s no longer trying to isolate his 700-acre Kauai estate by suing hundreds of kamaaina family members.

“Mahalo to you Mark for dropping your lawsuits,” Kristin Paulo said in a post on Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook page. “Much respect to you. That was pono (goodness). Pono will take you far in your new home. Aloha.”

The Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., which was considering defending people named in the lawsuits, also posted a statement on Facebook that others tagged with the thumbs-up emoji for “like.”

“We appreciate Mr. Zuckerberg’s sense of justice and his desire to truly understand the impact that the introduction of private property has had on the indigenous people of Hawaii,” the nonprofit law firm said.

Zuckerberg announced his decision to drop eight quiet title lawsuits in a letter to the editor of The Garden Island newspaper on Kauai.

“Upon reflection, I regret that I did not take the time to fully understand the quiet title process and its history before we moved ahead,” he wrote in the letter published on the paper’s website Friday. “Now that I understand the issues better, it’s clear we made a mistake.”

Zuckerberg filed the lawsuits against about 400 living defendants Dec. 30. The complaints targeted 13 parcels that are mostly 1 acre in size or smaller and are known as kuleana lands, which give every owner rights that include access to the property and water as well as residential use. These kuleana parcels, originally awarded to individuals by Hawaiian government officials under the Kuleana Act of 1850, are all within the 700 acres Zuckerberg purchased two years ago for around $100 million.

‘A better approach’

The social media mogul, who has submitted building permits for a 3,584-square-foot home on his property, said he heard from many community members who conveyed the cultural and historical significance of these kuleana lands after he filed the lawsuits in state court. Much of that feedback was posted directly on Zuckerberg’s Facebook page, which attracted close to 10,000 comments on the issue.

“We understand that for Native Hawaiians, kuleana are sacred and the quiet title process can be difficult,” he said in his letter. “We want to make this right, talk with the community, and find a better approach. To find a better path forward, we are dropping our quiet title actions and will work together with the community on a new approach.”

Zuckerberg’s about-face followed more than a week of heavy public discussion, global media coverage, talk of group protests and vows by Hawaii lawmakers to introduce legislation that helps defendants in quiet title cases — all of which erupted after the Honolulu Star-Advertiser first disclosed details of one of the eight lawsuits last week.

On Tuesday, Zuckerberg said he was “reconsidering” his legal complaints filed by Honolulu law firm Cades Schutte LLP.

Then on Thursday the Star-Advertiser published details of the other seven lawsuits, which all contained adverse possession claims that many Native Hawaiians consider a form of theft.

In the seven lawsuits, Zuckerberg was asking a state judge to declare that nine of the kuleana parcels he claimed to own were property acquired by prior owners who may have gained ownership just by using the land for decades without opposition — a practice that sugar plantation owners, ranchers and others abused to dispossess Native Hawaiians of ancestral lands.

Michelle Kauhane, president and CEO of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, said Zuckerberg had an amazing opportunity to truly matter to Hawaii after choosing to make a home along Kauai’s north shore with his wife, Priscilla Chan.

“Starting it out with litigation is not the right way — it may be the easy way, but not the right way,” Kauhane said earlier this week while hoping that Zuckerberg would seek out Hawaiians, community leaders and policymakers to help him make decisions.

In his letter to the Kauai newspaper, Zuckerberg said he will try to find the “best path” forward. “We will continue to speak with community leaders that represent different groups, including Native Hawaiians and environmentalists,” he wrote. “We love Kauai and we want to be good members of the community for the long term.”

State Rep. Kaniela Ing, chairman of the House Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources and Hawaiian Affairs, issued a statement Friday thanking Zuckerberg and expressing gratitude over an outpouring of action from “thousands of everyday people” who stood up and spoke out against an influential billionaire, public relations professionals and high-caliber attorneys.

“To Mark Zuckerberg, thank you for doing the right thing and hearing our voices,” Ing said in a statement. “You now have an opportunity to set the bar for what being a good neighbor and an ally to indigenous peoples looks like.”

Ing also said he will still pursue legislation to help defendants in quiet title litigation.

1 lawsuit to continue

Zuckerberg did note that one of the eight lawsuits will proceed, but without him as a plaintiff.

This case involves four kuleana parcels totaling 2 acres within Zuckerberg’s land that are owned mainly by people related to an immigrant Portuguese sugar cane plantation worker named Manuel Rapozo, who bought the parcels in 1894.

Carlos Andrade, a retired University of Hawaii professor of Hawaiian studies and great-grandson of Rapozo, joined Zuckerberg in filing the lawsuit, which indicated Andrade owns a 14 percent stake in the 2 acres.

Andrade, who still grows taro on the site and lived there from 1977 until recently, previously said he’s pursuing the quiet title action partly to ensure that the property isn’t lost to the county if no one takes his place paying property taxes that totaled about $6,500 in 2015.

More than 200 living relatives of Andrade own fractions of an interest in the 2 acres, according to the lawsuit, which asks that a judge allow a public auction of all the interests to whoever submits the highest bid. Hawaii quiet title law allows such auctions where land can’t be physically divided among numerous owners, most of whom have undocumented stakes in the property.

Zuckerberg, who acquired a 24 percent stake in the same 2 acres by purchasing the interests of several others related to Andrade, said in his letter that Andrade, 72, wants to pass this land on to his children. “He will continue his quiet title action and upon completion his family will have ownership of those kuleana,” the letter said.