Despite Their Reputation Among Youth (ages 6 - 14)
This dissertation endeavors to deeply perceive the features of Minecraft servers explicitly created for youth via three research using combined methods research. Human-Pc Interaction (HCI) research exhibits that sandbox-fashion virtual world video games like Minecraft function as curiosity-pushed areas the place youth can discover their creative interests, build technical expertise, and type social connections with peers and near-friends. Regardless of their popularity amongst youth (ages 6 - 14), we all know little in regards to the social and technological features of "in-the-wild" Minecraft servers that present themselves as "kid-pleasant" or "household-friendly." 30tt of this work are three-fold:1. To investigate the rhetoric of kid-/household-friendliness and the socio-technical mechanisms of such servers (Study I: 60 servers), 2. To understand the lived experiences of server staff who reasonable on such servers (Examine II: 8 youth and 22 moderators), and 3. To explore a design paradigm for technological mechanisms that leverage the strengths of a child-/family-friendly server community while also supporting moderators' practices (Examine III) I draw from interdisciplinary theories and structure this dissertation around two essential arguments about kid-/household-friendly Minecraft server ecosystems. First, I argue that they are instantiations of play-primarily based affinity networks created by adults that promote alternatives for youth to discover their pursuits and social connections. Second, I argue that the social and technological mechanisms reflected in the server rules and moderators' practices are characteristic of servers that self-describe as kid-/family-pleasant. Research I contributes a taxonomy for understanding server guidelines and an empirical characterization of three server genres - child-/household-friendly (n1 = 19); normal-family-pleasant (n2 = 20); and common (n3 = 20) in Minecraft. Study II reveals moderators' motivations and socio-technical practices in kid-/family-pleasant servers. The findings present that adult moderators encourage youth-led artistic roleplays, assist the interests of young gamers (e.g., Hogwarts virtual world, digital Satisfaction Day celebrations, and many others.), and supply mentorship to youth moderators on their servers. Research III theorizes the potential for automated prosocial tools in play-based spaces via a Discord Bot known as "UCIProsocialBot" inside OhanaCraft, one of the kid-/household-friendly server communities. Collectively, these findings provide a set of social and technological options that may substantiate a model for designing child-/family-friendly online playgrounds. This work theorizes that kid-/household-friendly servers can actualize constructive youth improvement when their self-narratives, social practices, and technological mechanisms are aligned with adolescent developmental needs.