LOS ANGELES – Let’s get this out of the way up front: Fuckbook.com is not a social network. Instead, it’s a new hybrid created especially for the adult market: a social media dating platform.

Since 2009, Fuckbook.com has offered adventurous adults who date — whether to find a permanent relationship or simply to hook up for no-strings sex — an honest-to-goodness community of like-minded individuals who flirt, chat and often meet in person to pursue whatever trips their individual triggers.

Founded by mainstream entrepreneurs, Fuckbook.com’s social media dating platform garnered interest almost overnight. Today, the network boasts more than seven million verified profiles of real people, many of whom take advantage of the site’s internal chat and messaging systems along with aspects of Twitter, tumblr, Pinterest and a certain mainstream social media behemoth.

The site’s user base continues to grow, according to a spokesman, because the experience Fuckbook.com provides is more “real” than even mainstream networks offer.

“It’s a real community of real people,” said Greg Dumas, who recently signed on to direct worldwide operations. “People want interaction. They’re all accustomed to communication via social media, and they’re tired of the one-dimensional experience on traditional adult membership sites.

“Fuckbook.com takes a high-volume, low-pressure approach to attracting new members,” he continued. “The site sells itself. Once [new users] sign up for a free membership and see what Fuckbook.com offers, most of them can’t wait to become permanent parts of the community.”

Mo Aguiari, who was coaxed out of adult-industry retirement to take charge of Fuckbook.com’s marketing and business development, said the eagerness with which users sign up for full memberships impressed him. After serving a lengthy stint as vice president of sales for a large European adult dating operation, Aguiari was accustomed to how quickly dating sites could blossom if they found the right market, but he’d never seen anything like Fuckbook.com’s magnetic appeal, he said.

“I think part of the secret to Fuckbook.com’s success is that, with regard to the adult industry, the founders had no preconceived notions about what would work and what wouldn’t work,” Aguiari said. “But they knew what they’d want in an online dating experience.”

As for rank-and-file end-users? Freebies top the list of things they seek in any online experience. According to Dumas, Fuckbook.com did not overlook “the power of free” when designing operating and marketing strategies. The majority of the site’s features are available to all members, whether or not they pay to belong. About the only thing free members cannot do is receive private messages and internal email from other users.

“Fuckbook.com values all members equally,” Dumas said. “We don’t spam members — free or paid — with advertising from external websites. We also don’t allow users to spam other users or harass anyone.”

Policing for inappropriate behavior is made easier by the proprietary interest members take in their community. If a user behaves badly, members are not shy about reporting him or her to management. Because all profiles on the site are legitimate and exclusive to Fuckbook.com, administrators can take action against misbehavior right away — and they do.

“To be successful in a crowded market, you have to set yourself apart,” Aguiari said. “By taking care of problems immediately, providing so many uncommon options, and allowing users to sample all the features at their own pace in order to determine if Fuckbook.com is the right community for them, we get a lot of positive response.”

Fuckbook.com plans to expand its network by the end of the year, opening online destinations in several niche markets. The expansion that most excites Aguiari and Dumas, though, is the addition of Fuckbook.com’s first-ever affiliate program.

Cummission.com will open Wednesday, May 21. Affiliates who opt for the pay-per-sale program earn $50 per sign-up; those who prefer revenue-share relationships can make up to 75 percent of each initial sign-up and 55 percent of recurring payments.