@bwDraco I believe it's strongly preferable to stick to soft/interpersonal interventions

Even mentioning flags and room timeouts tends to produce agitation :(

I don't have the social experience to use the proper words. :(

I'd want to, but I can't seem to find the words to ease tensions.

No problem - feel free to disengage and let someone else take care of it :)

So... can you point to some learning materials?

This is why @Burgi insists on my going out more.

Unfortunately I don't really know how to practice social skills from a book, or even if one can

Meeting people is probably the best method

This is why I'm not qualified to be a mod. I seriously need to learn here.

Ah well. I'll try to find a solution.

I tried.

Thanks :)

Sorry, was juggling a handful of rooms

Fortunately, the subject appears to be safely changed

I think the key is to ease others away from the problem topic, without using threats. Warning about the potential issues that might result (e.g. people might be offended, a flame war can result) is better than mentioning flags or other moderation measures.

Indeed

I'll probably watch and learn.

Exactly

Injecting humor can help, too, but I don't much of a sense of humor.

It's easy to go "kicked, kicked, kicked, timeout for 1min", but that won't solve the underlying problem

@bwDraco Change the subject, gently but firmly. Ask them how $LOCAL_SPORTS_TEAM$ is doing, and tell them how they're much better than $OTHER_SPORTS_TEAM$

Move the conversation along

You shouldn't threaten.

Yup.

Entice people into conversation, engage their interests. Make them want to talk to you instead.

I think this was one of the most productive mod talk sessions I've had, and I really learned a lot this time. Thanks :)

Got stuff to do, so see you in a bit.

See ya!