Autcraft

Founded in 2013, Autcraft was the first Minecraft server created with autism in mind. It was founded by Stuart Duncan, a web developer in Timmins, Canada whose son is diagnosed with autism, and is known in-game as AutismFather.{{Cite news|last=Winkie|first=Luke|date=2020-03-26|title=Meet the dad who quit his job to run a Minecraft server for autistic kids|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/meet-the-dad-who-quit-his-job-to-run-a-minecraft-server-for-autistic-kids/|access-date=2020-09-03|work=PC Gamer|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-09-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200907015749/https://www.pcgamer.com/meet-the-dad-who-quit-his-job-to-run-a-minecraft-server-for-autistic-kids/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Rutkin|first=Aviva|date=2016-04-27|title=How Minecraft is helping children with autism make new friends|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23030713-100-how-is-helping-children-with-autism-make-new-friends/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-12-20|website=New Scientist|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429134826/https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23030713-100-how-is-helping-children-with-autism-make-new-friends/ |archive-date=2016-04-29 }} Autcraft was created so such children could play their favourite game with others without facing the threat of bullying and discrimination.{{Cite news|last=Warzel|first=Charlie|title=This 'Minecraft' Community Is Saving The Lives Of Children With Autism|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/charliewarzel/this-minecraft-community-is-saving-the-lives-of-children-wit|access-date=2020-09-02|work=BuzzFeed News|department=Tech|language=en|archive-date=2020-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819001548/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/charliewarzel/this-minecraft-community-is-saving-the-lives-of-children-wit|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Beck|first=Kellen|title='Minecraft' players on the autism spectrum find a safe space on the Autcraft server|url=https://mashable.com/2017/05/25/minecraft-autcraft-autism-server/|access-date=2020-12-19|website=Mashable|date=25 May 2017 |language=en|archive-date=2020-09-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920021908/https://mashable.com/2017/05/25/minecraft-autcraft-autism-server/|url-status=live}} Autcraft is administrated by adults with and without mental conditions as well as their friends or family.{{Cite web|date=2018-03-26|title=Stuart Duncan's Autcraft: crafting a playspace for children with autism|url=https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/news-and-features/blogs/detail/cultural-blog/2018/03/26/stuart-duncan%27s-autcraft-crafting-a-playspace-for-children-with-autism|access-date=2020-12-19|publisher=Royal College of Psychiatrists|language=en|archive-date=2021-01-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121215023/https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/news-and-features/blogs/detail/cultural-blog/2018/03/26/stuart-duncan's-autcraft-crafting-a-playspace-for-children-with-autism|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|title=Single father creates a safe haven for children with autism to play together online|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/single-father-creates-safe-haven-children-autism-play/story?id=47470445|access-date=2020-09-02|work=ABC News|language=en|last=Thorbeke|first=Catherine|archive-date=2020-09-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919164440/https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/single-father-creates-safe-haven-children-autism-play/story?id=47470445|url-status=live}} As of January 2025, the server has over 18,000 whitelisted players.{{Cite web |last=Duncan |first=Stewart |date=January 10, 2025 |title=Autcraft passed 18,000 names on the list of approved players! |url=https://autcraft.com/forum/topic/2743-autcraft-passed-18%2C000-names-on-the-list-of-approved-players%21/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250121213946/https://autcraft.com/forum/topic/2743-autcraft-passed-18%2C000-names-on-the-list-of-approved-players!/ |archive-date=2025-01-21 |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=www.autcraft.com |language=en}}

When asked about the server, Duncan stated, "We just let them know that they're not alone... We're here for each other and will support each other for as long as need be... We all know how terrible it can feel sometimes and none of us want the others to feel that same way."

Autcraft was the subject of a 2015 conference paper by Ringland et al. in which empirical data was gathered from a digital ethnography of the server to explore how parents of autistic children continually create a "safe" virtual world through both implicit and explicit means.{{Cite book |last1=Ringland |first1=Kathryn E. |last2=Wolf |first2=Christine T. |last3=Dombrowski |first3=Lynn |last4=Hayes |first4=Gillian R. |title=Proceedings of the 18th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing |chapter=Making "Safe": Community-Centered Practices in a Virtual World Dedicated to Children with Autism |date=2015-02-28 |chapter-url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2675133.2675216 |language=en |location=Vancouver BC Canada |publisher=ACM |pages=1788–1800 |doi=10.1145/2675133.2675216 |isbn=978-1-4503-2922-4 |s2cid=5858849 |access-date=2023-05-27 |archive-date=2023-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407020755/https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2675133.2675216 |url-status=live }}

Autcraft's gameplay is mostly similar to vanilla (unmodded) Minecraft, however offers a variety of server plugins to facilitate moderation, prevent griefing (unauthorized destruction of another player's builds or items) or add custom crafting recipes. It also offers Player Of The Week (POTW) events, in which an outstanding player is selected as the POTW in an event, as well as Wither Fights, where players must fight waves of both normal enemies and significantly stronger custom bosses collaboratively. Oftentimes these bosses will drop rare, sought after items, such as armor that gives you a permanent beneficial effect, or simply a trophy.

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{{Minecraft}}

Category:Minecraft servers

Category:Internet properties established in 2013

Category:Sociological and cultural aspects of autism

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