---
name: online-communities
description: >-
  Blog search, forum analysis, Reddit investigation, and online community monitoring.
  Use when the user mentions: blog, forum, Reddit, community, discussion board, online community.
user-invocable: false
---

# Online Communities

Blog search, forum analysis, Reddit investigation, IRC reconnaissance,
and online community monitoring.

## Legal Notice

All tools use publicly available information only. Users must comply
with applicable laws and platform terms of service.

## Tools Reference

Read `skills/online-communities/references/tools.md` for the complete
list of 16 free tools in this category.

## Key command-line tools

| Tool | Install | Usage |
| ------ | --------- | ------- |
| ReconXplorer | `git clone https://github.com/root7am/ReconXplorer && cd ReconXplorer && pip install -r requirements.txt` | `python reconxplorer.py` |
| IRCP | `git clone https://github.com/internet-relay-chat/IRCP && cd IRCP && pip install -r requirements.txt` | `python ircp.py <irc_server>` |
| ircsnapshot | `git clone https://github.com/bwall/ircsnapshot && cd ircsnapshot && pip install -r requirements.txt` | `python ircsnapshot.py <irc_server>` |

### All Install Methods — ReconXplorer

| Method | Command |
| -------- | --------- |
| Git clone | `git clone https://github.com/root7am/ReconXplorer && cd ReconXplorer && pip install -r requirements.txt` |
| pip | N/A |
| go | N/A |
| apt | N/A |
| npm | N/A |
| Docker | N/A |
| brew | N/A |
| snap | N/A |
| cargo | N/A |

### All Install Methods — IRCP

| Method | Command |
| -------- | --------- |
| Git clone | `git clone https://github.com/internet-relay-chat/IRCP && cd IRCP && pip install -r requirements.txt` |
| pip | N/A |
| go | N/A |
| apt | N/A |
| npm | N/A |
| Docker | N/A |
| brew | N/A |
| snap | N/A |
| cargo | N/A |

### All Install Methods — ircsnapshot

| Method | Command |
| -------- | --------- |
| Git clone | `git clone https://github.com/bwall/ircsnapshot && cd ircsnapshot && pip install -r requirements.txt` |
| pip | N/A |
| go | N/A |
| apt | N/A |
| npm | N/A |
| Docker | N/A |
| brew | N/A |
| snap | N/A |
| cargo | N/A |

## Subcategories

- **Blog Search** — Blog discovery, LiveJournal search, topic-focused blog post searching (Blog Search Engine, Live Journal Seek)
- **Forum Search** — Forum thread indexing, discussion search, historical threads (BoardReader, Omgili/Webz.io, Craigslist Forums, Delphi Forum Search, Google Groups Search)
- **Reddit** — User/subreddit content discovery, deleted content recovery, historical dataset analysis (Arctic Shift, Cama's Reddit Search, Reveddit)
- **IRC** — Server enumeration, channel metadata collection, user/hostmask mapping, network topology (IRCP, ircsnapshot, netsplit.de)
- **Discord** — Bot discovery, server ecosystem mapping, token-based reconnaissance (Discord Bot List, Top.gg, ReconXplorer)

## Investigation Workflow

1. **Keyword search**: Start with blog and forum search engines (BoardReader, Blog Search Engine) for broad topic discovery
2. **Reddit deep dive**: Use Cama's Reddit Search or Arctic Shift for historical post/comment analysis by username or keyword
3. **Deleted content**: Check Reveddit for removed Reddit posts and moderation activity
4. **Forum archives**: Search Google Groups for mailing-list history; check Delphi Forums and Craigslist Forums for niche discussions
5. **IRC reconnaissance**: Run IRCP for server enumeration and channel metadata; use ircsnapshot for user/hostmask mapping
6. **Discord mapping**: Search Discord Bot List and Top.gg for server ecosystem; use ReconXplorer for Discord token checks
7. **Cross-reference**: Link usernames and handles found in communities to other platforms
8. **Timeline construction**: Build activity timelines from post dates, IRC logs, and forum timestamps

## Cross-Category Pivots

- **social-networks** — Usernames and handles found in communities often map to social media profiles; pivot to social-networks for platform-specific lookups
- **username-recon** — Discovered usernames should be checked across platforms; pivot to username-recon for cross-platform enumeration

## OPSEC Notes

- Most web-based tools (BoardReader, Blog Search Engine, Reddit search tools) are **Passive** — they query indexed public data
- **ReconXplorer** is marked **Active** — it performs direct reconnaissance against targets including Discord tokens; use from a clean environment
- **IRCP** and **ircsnapshot** are marked **Active** — they connect directly to IRC servers and may be logged by server operators; your IP and connection metadata will be visible
- IRC tools create real connections that are observable; use a VPN or proxy and a non-attributable nickname
- Reddit search tools query public APIs and archives; no registration required for most
- Discord bot directories are passive; however, Discord token-based tools may violate Discord ToS
- Google Groups queries are logged by Google if performed while signed in

## Delegation

### Tool Lookup

```
Agent(
  subagent_type="osint-framework:osint-researcher",
  description="Online Communities tool search",
  prompt="Find OSINT tools for Online Communities.\n
    Read skills/online-communities/references/tools.md\n
    Return recommendations matching the user's specific need."
)
```

### Active Investigation

```
Agent(
  subagent_type="osint-framework:osint-investigator",
  description="Online Communities investigation: [target]",
  prompt="Investigate using Online Communities tools: [target]\n\n
    Primary: Read skills/online-communities/references/tools.md\n
    Secondary: Read skills/username-recon/references/tools.md\n
    Execute available CLI tools (IRCP, ircsnapshot for IRC; ReconXplorer
    for Discord), query web resources, report findings.\n
    Start with passive search engines before active IRC/Discord probing."
)
```