I agree with this assessment. Also, I am a man, and I think it's a bad idea, too.
The whole point of online dating was to be able to judge beforehand how awkward the situation would be.
It's very hard to duck out in the first few minutes ("Sorry, I'm not remotely attracted to you, but I'm sure you're a lovely person")
I think it'd be quite easy actually. You have no mutual friends, and you are both going into it with the exact same feeling. If either person is disinterested, it should be expressed immediately, as both parties are better off.
That works with a pair of highly-logical people, but for anyone else it would seem extremely offputting and awkward. Even when I go out of my way to not bullshit people, "sorry but I'm just not feeling this" without at least a reasonable conversation first (even just half an hour) would be tough.
Having said that, I still signed up. What do I have to lose - an hour on HN, and three bucks on coffee? If it's awkward it's awkward; everyone could do with getting better at handling awkward situations.
