Singapore - The recent move to ban the website Ashley Madison has pretty much split opinion right down the middle.

I'm on the side that's scratching our heads.

We can all agree that adultery is morally wrong. I'll also say that I find the website CEO's reasoning that Ashley Madison helps marriages mind-boggling to say the least. And he has stated that he has never had an affair. So it's not exactly the best testimonial nor the most logical sales pitch.

But to ban it on the basis that it is a "flagrant disregard of our family values and public morality" assumes much about our citizenry's ability to make reasoned deductions about the website.

Plus, I couldn't help but ask - what else would be in flagrant disregard of our family values?

Gambling comes to mind. But there's plenty of information out there about its dangers and how it can families.

That bit about protecting family values could be applied to many more situations. What if, hypothetically, a website comes along that promotes alternative sexual lifestyles? Are we prepared to keep banning sites?

Mr Ng - who started the Facebook petition against Ashley Madison and who refuses till today to reveal his full name - tells us that action had to be taken because the website was too "well publicised".

But it cannot be that we are banning the site because it has marketing muscle and some catchy, if ostensibly silly, tagline?

It is also slightly ironic: Mr Ng made a conscious choice to oppose Ashley Madison and called on like-minded people to do so. This Facebook petition has since received almost 27,000 likes. Even a minister talked about it. Those actions helped generate more awareness, and hence, publicity.

I say Ashley Madison would not have worked here anyway.

For a start, we'd be too cheap to actually pay for introductions.

Then imagine what would happen once a profile is put up - can it possibly remain a secret? In this tiny place, everyone seems to know everyone else.

I also have faith that our societal mores and values will stand up to a website with a sexy tagline.

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