Aug
2008
Ashley Madison: Sometimes The Web Just Goes Too Far
Back in April of this year, I did one of the largest lists I had ever done for Mashable: Dating Toolbox: 120+ Sites For Singles To Find Love. I thought I had hit the majority of the dating sites out there when I even found one dedicated to farmers, but somehow I completely missed The Ashley Madison Agency.
As you can see, there slogan is, “Life is short. Have an affair.” I’m kind of surprised this didn’t end with an exclamation point, but oh well. As you’ve guessed from that, this site is dedicated only to married individuals who are looking to cheat on their spouse. I admit I didn’t bother signing up to peruse the site myself, but I would imagine there are more than a few single men in there also whom are sure they can provide some lonely housewife with just what they need, but in general it is for married folks.
Though the site has been around since 2002, I had never heard of it until the news came out that ESPN’s parent company, Disney, had instructed the network to stop running television ads for the service.
Wait…
They run television ads for a site built specifically for people who want to have affairs? According to the article in AdFreak, Noel Biderman, president of the agency, doesn’t understand how the service differs from the beer ads run on ESPN and why those are allowed to continue while this site isn’t.
Er… well, you see, the thing is…
Honestly, I have a very “live and let live” mentality when it comes to other people’s lifestyles. I have known people of of so many varied backgrounds that it would be impossible for me to be judgmental of anyone who chooses to do anything short of murder. What I do have is a problem with is a website whose sole puprose is to profit from facilitating the breaking of marital vows. I am not naive in that I don’t know this happens on other dating sites on a daily basis, but those sites are not built around that lone concept. The site says they don’t encourage infidelity, and they say that just because it exists it won’t cause people to stray, they are merely providing a service.
urk… I think my brain just broke.
Just because you can build a site or service doesn’t always necessairly mean you should, and this is one of those cases.
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Luke | August 7th, 2008 at 6:36 pm #
great post. Have to agree with you about this shocking site
Sher | January 31st, 2009 at 6:51 pm #
If a company like this is allowed to exist.There will be more people who will want to make money like this. Honestly I do not understand how the person who started this site sleep every night knowing he is breaking up families and kids lives. What would the wife or husband tell the child when they grow up about why their mom and dad left them, because of physical intimacy?. I am shocked that Canada of all countries allow such a business to operate. Its so sad that people don't care about the essence of life anymore. The best slogan now is Life is short , have an affair. To me that means I will die young, so lets get there faster.w such a business to operate. Its so sad that people don't care about the essence of life anymore. The best slogan now is Life is short , have an affair. To me that means I will die young, so lets get there faster.
Kristen | May 8th, 2009 at 9:29 pm #
i found this post googling "can i complain about ashley madison?" I have friends that are both doing it, and I really need someone to complain to. It has totally affected our friendship, and that of our families. I'm sure there is someone out there going through the same thing.
Kate | December 3rd, 2009 at 3:49 pm #
"If a company like this is allowed to exist.There will be more people who will want to make money like this. Honestly I do not understand how the person who started this site sleep every night knowing he is breaking up families and kids lives."
Probably the same way tobacco execs sleep every night knowing that they are contributing to the deaths of thousands, even millions of people…in their luxurious beds inside their multi-million dollar mansions. I don't agree with the site, but we live in a free society and I'd like to keep it that way.