counterpoint:
back in the long-long ago when i was online dating, the biggest boon it provided was that it gave you a space where you knew that it was okay flirt and that your intentions would not be misunderstood. you never had to guess if it would be a creepy time/place to flirt. you never had to worry about your intentions being misunderstood as "just being friendly". if somebody was on this app/website, they were looking to flirt and if you approached them everybody was clear that you were flirting.
doing something similar with friendship could be great.
I guess this is less of an issue for male-to-male communication.
Theres plenty of awkwardness if you approach a bunch of guys that are all friends with each other. Can I join in this conversation, or is it a “closed” private clique?
In my experience, what sometimes work, is saying something, even just an "Oh? Really?". Although no deep connections emerged from that one, i've had a few good conversations with strange people going.