Jock -- you wrote:

"Cross-posting describes the action of posting the same message to a number of different groups."

Technically, I thought that was called "spamming" (as in the Monty Python sketch where every item on a diner's menu included spam)

BTW, the term "Trolling" is taken from the verb "to troll" as in the method of fishing -- the troller is trailing 'bait' through the internet, trying to see how many he or she can catch with with their messages.

Acccusions of trolling can get pretty ridiculous sometimes. On some newsgroups, particularly those dedicated to fans of a particular tv show or music group, anyone who posts an unpopular opinion is labeled a "troll" as in: "You're an anti-_____ (fill in performer's name here) troll!"

On one newsgroup I frequent[*], it got so bad that calling people trolls became a running joke ("you're a pro-chocolate troll, and I'm pro-jam, so we can't be friends!" kind of thing. -- all this in jest, of course.) When I admitted that I went on to the newsgroup simply to have fun, I got labeled a "pro-fun troll" (again, in jest, and I took it as such.)

At that moment, an image popped into my head of a little pot-bellied, under-the-bridge type troll wearing a bright pink and purple birthday hat -- ready to go to a birthday party wherever it may be. Like her nastier cousins, my alter-ego tries her best to take over the Internet... only she tries to get people to reply to her posts by provoking laughter and intelligent discussion rather than anger and defensiveness.

Now, in that newsgroup, putting "pro-fun" somewhere in a thread's subject line lets people know that is a "safe haven" from flame wars. Often, the topics are quite silly, but not always. Sometimes, they are an offering of praise or appreciation.

But Pro-Fun trolls are still the minority. And so I agree with you Jock:

When in doubt Do Not Feed the Trolls!!!