In dating sites, AshleyMadison (Alexa: 6,129; Feb 09) is an American site for discrete affairs. [1] The site was founded in 2001.

Overview
Founded in 2001, based on the two most popular female baby names of that year, Ashley Madison is where mature adults express their sexuality; no matter their social status or situation, Ashley Madison allows those dissatisfied with their current sexual prospects and allows interested individuals to explore their sexuality in a healthy, private, non-judgmental situation. Ashley Madison claims that it fully supports healthy, active sexual relationships and openly accepts all whom are interested in exploring their perceived inhibitions.

Since its foundation in 2001, AshleyMadison has always been one of the most controversial dating sites on the Internet, due to its nature which lets married people or people who are in relationships to find affairs through discreet relationships and casual encounters.

Feb 01, 2009 Ashley Madison Super Bowl commercial that was banned in the US (except in Texas).

Banned Super Bowl commercial
The most recent controversial thing about this discreet dating site is a Super Bowl commercial on Feb 1th, 2009.

Even Ashley Madison is very controversial, Ashley Madison has ironically been featured in many popular magazines, TV programs and popular radio shows, such as Howard Stem, Tyra Banks shows, 20/20, Ellen, Dr. Phill, and even Larry King. So far, the site has over 3,320,000 members mainly in the Canada, followed by the U.S, while Toronto, Los Angeles and New York are the top three cites in terms of the total number of active members.

Features and costs
The website is completely free for ladies. For guys who want to join their site, basic membership is free. However, certain advanced features, such as Instant Messaging, Emailing and reading messages from ladies, require the purchase of credits. Once you purchase credits, you will become a full member.

Full membership can receive following benefits: Unlimited mail messages, ability to send priority mail, Exchange priviate photos, Chat in real time, Appear first in search display.

The site does allow guys with free membership to send "collect" messages to ladies who then would have to purchase credits to read "collect" messages. However, guys with free memberships should not really expect ladies to pay for reading their "collect" messages. Since each lady receives tons of messages from folks who already paid for the advanced features, it is almost impossible for a lady to pay for reading messages from guys with free membership, unless the lady is ..... So guys, you had better buy some credits, if you want to find your luck there.
If you are still not convinced, you can just join Ashley Madison as a free member and check it out by yourself before you decide whether you want to purchase any points. To join, only a valid email address is needed.


References
1. (a) The Ashley Madison Agency (est. 2001) – AshleyMadison.com
(b) AshleyMadison.com (overview) – eLoveRoad.com
(c) AshleyMadison (channel) - YouTube

Further reading
● Alexander, Brian. (2009). “Adultery Site not the end of Marriage: AshleyMadison.com is controversial, but couples cheated before the Web”, MSNBC.com, 03 March 2009.