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This dissertation endeavors to deeply understand the features of Minecraft servers explicitly created for youth by means of three studies utilizing mixed methods analysis. Human-Laptop Interplay (HCI) research reveals that sandbox-style virtual world games like Minecraft operate as curiosity-driven areas where youth can explore their artistic pursuits, construct technical expertise, and type social connections with friends and near-friends. Despite their popularity amongst youth (ages 6 - 14), we all know little concerning the social and technological features of "in-the-wild" Minecraft servers that current themselves as "child-friendly" or "household-pleasant." The aims of this work are three-fold:1. To research the rhetoric of kid-/household-friendliness and the socio-technical mechanisms of such servers (Research I: 60 servers), 2. 360 degrees all the way around To understand the lived experiences of server employees who moderate on such servers (Research II: Eight youth and 22 moderators), and 3. To discover a design paradigm for technological mechanisms that leverage the strengths of a kid-/household-friendly server neighborhood while additionally supporting moderators' practices (Examine III) I draw from interdisciplinary theories and construction this dissertation round two predominant arguments about kid-/household-friendly Minecraft server ecosystems. First, I argue that they are instantiations of play-based mostly affinity networks created by adults that promote opportunities for youth to discover their pursuits and social connections. Second, I argue that the social and technological mechanisms mirrored within the server guidelines and moderators' practices are characteristic of servers that self-describe as child-/household-friendly. Study I contributes a taxonomy for understanding server rules and an empirical characterization of three server genres - kid-/household-friendly (n1 = 19); common-family-pleasant (n2 = 20); and common (n3 = 20) in Minecraft. Examine II reveals moderators' motivations and socio-technical practices in kid-/family-pleasant servers. The findings show that adult moderators encourage youth-led artistic roleplays, support the pursuits of young players (e.g., Hogwarts digital world, virtual Satisfaction Day celebrations, and so forth.), and provide mentorship to youth moderators on their servers. Research III theorizes the potential for automated prosocial tools in play-primarily based areas by way of a Discord Bot referred to as "UCIProsocialBot" inside OhanaCraft, one in all the child-/family-pleasant server communities. Together, these findings provide a set of social and technological options that may substantiate a mannequin for designing kid-/household-friendly online playgrounds. This work theorizes that kid-/family-pleasant servers can actualize positive youth development when their self-narratives, social practices, and technological mechanisms are aligned with adolescent developmental wants.