@JTT,
I hesitate to classify it as trolling, but you're point is taken.
I see it along the line of that group dynamic that crops up every now and then.
It's just the animal in us, I've seen a pack of dogs turn on an injured member and tear him to pieces. It's instinctual, human beings aren't exempt.
I doubt that anyone actually intended to troll jgoldman, and humans tend to feel bad about their involvement after the fact.
I predict you'll see a change, now that the frenzy is over.