UC Irvine

This dissertation endeavors to deeply understand the features of Minecraft servers explicitly created for youth through three studies using mixed methods research. Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research shows that sandbox-style virtual world games like Minecraft operate as interest-driven spaces where youth can explore their creative interests, build technical expertise, and form social connections with peers and near-peers. Despite their popularity among youth (ages 6 - 14), we know little about the social and technological features of "in-the-wild" Minecraft servers that present themselves as "kid-friendly" or "family-friendly." The aims of this work are three-fold:1. To investigate the rhetoric of kid-/family-friendliness and the socio-technical mechanisms of such servers (Study I: 60 servers), 2. To understand the lived experiences of server staff who moderate on such servers (Study II: 8 youth and 22 moderators), and 3. To explore a design paradigm for technological mechanisms that leverage the strengths of a kid-/family-friendly server community while also supporting moderators' practices (Study III) I draw from interdisciplinary theories and structure this dissertation around two main arguments about kid-/family-friendly 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 in the server rules and moderators' practices are characteristic of servers that self-describe as kid-/family-friendly. Study I contributes a taxonomy for understanding server rules and an empirical characterization of three server genres – kid-/family-friendly (n1 = 19); general-family-friendly (n2 = 20); and general (n3 = 20) in Minecraft. Study II reveals moderators' motivations and socio-technical practices in kid-/family-friendly servers. The findings show that adult moderators encourage youth-led creative roleplays, support the interests of young players (e.g., Hogwarts virtual world, virtual Pride Day celebrations, etc.), and offer mentorship to youth moderators on their servers. Study III theorizes the potential for automated prosocial tools in play-based spaces through a Discord Bot called "UCIProsocialBot" within OhanaCraft, one of the kid-/family-friendly server communities. Together, these findings provide a set of social and technological features that may substantiate a model for designing kid-/family-friendly online playgrounds. This work theorizes that kid-/family-friendly servers can actualize positive youth development when their self-narratives, social practices, and technological mechanisms are aligned with adolescent developmental needs.