Regardless Of Their Popularity Amongst Youth (ages 6 - 14)

This dissertation endeavors to deeply perceive the features of Minecraft servers explicitly created for youth through three studies using blended strategies research. Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research reveals that sandbox-style virtual world games like Minecraft operate as interest-pushed areas the place youth can explore their artistic pursuits, build technical experience, and type social connections with peers and close to-friends. Regardless of their reputation among youth (ages 6 - 14), we know little in regards to the social and technological features of "in-the-wild" Minecraft servers that current themselves as "kid-friendly" or "family-friendly." The aims of this work are three-fold:1. To investigate the rhetoric of child-/family-friendliness and the socio-technical mechanisms of such servers (Examine I: 60 servers), 2. To grasp the lived experiences of server workers who moderate on such servers (Study II: Eight youth and 22 moderators), and 3. To explore a design paradigm for technological mechanisms that leverage the strengths of a child-/household-pleasant server community while also supporting moderators' practices (Examine III) I draw from interdisciplinary theories and construction this dissertation round two important arguments about child-/household-pleasant Minecraft server ecosystems. First, I argue that they are instantiations of play-based affinity networks created by adults that promote opportunities for youth to explore their interests and social connections. Second, I argue that the social and technological mechanisms reflected within the server guidelines and moderators' practices are characteristic of servers that self-describe as child-/family-friendly. Research I contributes a taxonomy for understanding server rules and an empirical characterization of three server genres - child-/family-pleasant (n1 = 19); basic-family-friendly (n2 = 20); and common (n3 = 20) in Minecraft. Study II reveals moderators' motivations and socio-technical practices in kid-/household-friendly servers.This That Or The Otherpresent that adult moderators encourage youth-led creative roleplays, support the pursuits of young gamers (e.g., Hogwarts virtual world, digital Satisfaction Day celebrations, and so on.), and supply mentorship to youth moderators on their servers. Research III theorizes the potential for automated prosocial instruments in play-based mostly spaces by means of a Discord Bot known as "UCIProsocialBot" inside OhanaCraft, considered one of the kid-/family-friendly server communities. Together, these findings provide a set of social and technological features that will substantiate a model for designing kid-/family-friendly online playgrounds. This work theorizes that child-/family-friendly servers can actualize optimistic youth improvement when their self-narratives, social practices, and technological mechanisms are aligned with adolescent developmental needs.