I've noticed a shift on Reddit in the last week or two. It's had a sense of camaraderie for many months due to the growing catalog of native memes, but lately it's become literally a lovefest. There are now several personals sections, and the snowstorms have temporarily increased posting volume. Also, the end of the year is a slow time for news, so it gives way to chatter.
And the amazing thing is the level of interaction seen. A traditional dating site has you set up a profile and browse others', which is inefficient compared to reading coherent banter until your interest is piqued and you jump into the conversation. It all takes advantage of the dynamic sorting based on voting. The less witty or sensical a comment, the further down it sinks into obscurity.
Reddit may have truly found its calling. Whereas HN is (I assume) mainly dudes interested in programming and web apps, some older and in stable relationships, Reddit brims with eager singles ready to hook up.
I know kn0thing reads here, and my suggestion to you would be to spend a week or two trying to make this into a real feature. Have a checkbox for "single", have a form for basic demographics (sex, age, location, orientation), and structure the site so even more people can hook up. I'm not sure how keen the folks at Conde Nast, a news organization, would be, but you don't get many opportunities like this. Otherwise, some clever hacker is going to jump in and use the Reddit user base to his own advantage.
Reddit is truly the shining beacon of internet evolution. Or maybe it's just a bunch of people who don't know what the fuck they want out of one website.
Good observation mate.