"Damn, I may have to revise my proposal..."
Uhhhh ..... head, you just might have more of a legal problem on your hands. I'm not a lawyer, but my guess is legitimate.
I am a lawyer (and soon to be phd, keep the snide comments to yourself, please). I'm curious as to why you see a legal problem with researching online communities? There are various ways to research the community without invading privacy or running afoul of human subjects requirements.
As to revising my proposal, no way, too much blood, sweat, and tears already. It was a joke.