AutCraft

Minecraft server for autistic people! - Support us on Patreon: Dmi1LuszVXMVnkTCcUkqxUCz3EtApAkN1vVGmyn8BAGS

[AutCraft @AutCraft]

I get wanting to keep children under 13 offline... it's not the best way to go about it, in my opinion, but I get it. But 16?

At age 16, kids are going through some of the most dramatic, traumatic, drastic changes of their life. Aside from just puberty and high school and all of the terribleness of that alone, many kids also are disabled, discovering their sexuality, trying to figure out who they are, trying to decide if they should come out of the closet, some of those people are being abused by their parents... many of those kids have no friends.

Most of those kids find support online. They find adults who have been there, and they find other kids going through the same things. Most of all, what makes the biggest difference, is that they find that they're not alone.

Cutting millions of kids off from their lifelines at what is arguably the most formidable years of their life, making all of them feel more alone than they've ever felt in their life when they've needed someone the most... is going to have serious consequences.

I've devoted my life to keeping kids on my server safe. I go to stupid lengths to do that. Some would argue too far. But I'd never do this. Because this, to me, isn't safety. This is just putting millions of kids in a different kind of danger.

What's worse is the handling of it. We've already had to tell literally dozens of kids that they've done nothing wrong, because they don't understand why the one place they've felt safe has now suddenly silenced them.

Kids will die because of this. That's not keeping them safe.

[AutCraft @AutCraft]

Minecraft's latest update includes enforcement of the UK's new Online Safety Act 2023... and it is a disaster.

Let us start out by saying to our players and their families: If you get into Minecraft and find that you can not use the chat, it is NOT because you did anything wrong.

On the surface, this new law and its implementation seems well intentioned, but it has been mishandled and enforced in the worst possible ways. This is supposed to only affect people in the UK, but we are seeing players in New Zealand, Japan, Germany, South Africa, and literally everywhere else affected by this. They are signing on and discovering that they are locked out of the server chat. And not just children! EVERYONE. Also, it's not just people using the latest update, it's all of Minecraft.

I am the creator and owner of Autcraft. I am a 50-year-old man in Canada, on a server located in Canada, that is set to an older version of Minecraft, and I logged in to discover that I could not use the chat in my own server.

There was no warning that this was coming, and if there was, 99% of people didn't see it or understand how it would affect them. There's no clear information given as to why people cannot chat. There's no information given on how to get access back, and what is available is confusing and extremely complicated. People in Minecraft have to go to Xbox? And to the privacy sections? And to the parental control settings? And to the age verification section? And there's an app?

This is much worse than just losing access to chat. It's no exaggeration to say that some people, many people, depend on Autcraft for their very lives. They need that support. They need that safe space. Their only friends are there. The only place they feel like they can truly be themselves is on Autcraft. And with this latest update, they logged in to find that they've been silenced with no explanation, no answers, and no path to fixing it.

Many of those people leave, silently, lost, scared, worried that they did something wrong. They are worried that we hate them now. They're worried that they've lost the only place they've felt that they belong. These are autistic children and adults who fear confrontation, who cannott handle the weight of extreme guilt, who are terrified that they've just lost everything because they did something to deserve it.

It's not just Autcraft. People depend on their online communities and online friends in ways that impact them very deeply. Many servers are seeing low player counts across the board as people close their games and walk away. Those who aren't scared of why it happened are refusing to conform to the UK government, or any government, to hand over ID or verifying personal information simply to play a video game.

Ultimately, this solves nothing. Autcraft is focused on player safety, and we will be the first to say that this keeps no one safe. Children are already finding those settings, getting their parents to verify them, and finding ways around the system to get access again. Even before all of this, every single day, we've had parents asking us if we have a Discord server for their 6-year-old children to voice chat with people since they can't read or write very well. That is extremely dangerous, but they either don't know that or don't care. All of the laws, TOS, and restrictions in the world mean absolutely nothing if those children and their parents will just check whatever boxes they need to without reading or knowing anything to get their children back in contact with the world as quickly as possible anyway.

Real safety, real protection comes from education. It comes from warning labels, from clearly explaining the dangers, from showing people the risks, and from making sure that people understand that online gaming isn't the paradise that game makers would have you believe it is. Cigarette companies have had to start putting warning labels on their packaging. We feel, it's about time that online gaming does the same. Big, bold, very clear, very serious warning labels. Tell the players that bullies, trolls, predators, groomers, and dangerous people are out there. Stop babying children just because they're children. They want to be safe too, but they cannot be safe if no one tells them what can happen. Parents want to keep their children safe, but they can't do that if they don't know what the dangers are and how to protect them effectively.

We, at Autcraft, feel that not all of the blame for this can be put on Minecraft or Mojang. This trickles down from the top, starting with the UK government imposing its will on the entire world. Then Microsoft and Xbox with their absolutely terrible implementation of their security features and wide, vague, and complicated settings. Finally, comes Minecraft and Mojang for incorporating those Xbox features in the worst way possible.

Children need to be better protected. This is certain. Absolutely terrible and tragic crimes are being committed every day in online gaming, probably even in Minecraft itself. But people are not informed well enough about it. Instead, they are just locked out and told nothing.

This sudden and unexpected change and the terrible way they went about it in the name of safety isn't just terrible for business, this is terrible for human lives. Lives will be lost over this as players are locked out from their friends, from people who now feel like family, from their safe spaces, from the places where they finally found true belonging when the real world failed to give them any of that. This is not keeping them safe. This is putting lives in danger in the name of safety.

Autcraft does not approve of or endorse these changes. They're harmful and dangerous, and they protect no one. We are calling on the UK government, Microsoft, and Mojang to fix this immediately.

[AutCraft @AutCraft]

I just turned 50 and over the years, and my experiences over the last 13 years of running Autcraft, I've learned some things, and come up with some philosophies that have not only helped me, but helped me better help others around me as well. I've been happier, felt more fulfilled, and they've brought my more peace than I've ever had in my life.

I thought, if you're interested, I'd share a few of those philosophies with you:

1. People say, "don't care what other people think about you"; That's not realistic. We're always going to care what people think and we should. It helps us to present the best versions of ourselves. What you need to do instead is stop taking everything so personally.

Praise, hate, anything in between... everyone has their opinions, just don't take any of it personally.

You can tell a lot about a person based on what they see in other people. If a person believes that the only reason you could be doing something good is to take advantage of them... it's because that's who they are. Don't take the accusation personally, take it as a lesson.

People are going to think what they think regardless of who you are, it's up to you whether or not you care about it.

2. Loneliness has nothing to do with being alone. Loneliness is when you feel like no one cares. Loneliness causes depression. Depression causes suicide.

I have found that the most valuable thing you can give someone is to make them feel seen. Ask people about their interests. Let them tell you about themselves. Recognize their needs and offer to accommodate

The loneliest feeling in the world is being surrounded by wonderful people and still feeling like nobody cares. Don't let anybody ever feel that way, whether they are family, friend, or stranger... help them feel seen.

3. Stop comparing yourself to other people and stop comparing other people against each other too.

You are different from everyone else, and that can be scary, but it's also your greatest asset. There are always going to be people better than you at some things and there are always going to be people worse than you at other things... but that doesn't mean that any of those people are better or worse than you overall, just different. You can provide perspectives and information and combinations of skills that no one else can!

Please stop comparing other people too... no one cares who is hotter than who, who is the better actor, who is better or worse than who... it means nothing since these things are subjective, therefore the only purpose these comparisons have is to divide us. To cause you to think negatively of everyone who disagrees. You don't want people comparing you to other people, stop doing it to other people, for your own sake as well as theirs.

4. Reject hate. Avoid negativity.

You don't need people who constantly complain, who are always judging others harshly, who never have anything good to say. That negative energy will cast a shadow on your life. It will hurt your mental health.

If you wish to have a positive outlook, surround yourself with positive people. Be with people who will lift you up, not drag you down.

Don't confuse this with only having people who say what you want to hear. Find people who can teach you, challenge you, change how you think, without being negative or judgy.

5. If you see a way to help people, help people. Stop waiting for "the right time" because that does not exist.

Everyone has far more potential than they believe they do, they're held back by their own self doubt. You aren't under qualified, you just haven't tried hard enough yet. Do it, keep doing it, fall, get back up, push forward, improve along the way, and never, ever, give up.

Also, remember what I said earlier, the most important thing you can do is make people feel seen, and that can be done with a simple "hello." It doesn't need to be big or costly or take much time, helping people can be as simple as making sure they feel seen.

If you see an opportunity to make a positive impact in one person's life, or many people's lives, take it. It's always the right time if you can help.

The world could use some extra helpers, now more than ever.

[Stuart Duncan @autismfather]

Tomorrow, June 5th, is my 50th birthday!

I'll be streaming at https://t.co/OD549e0VwD, at 2pm EST.

I'll start on the @Autcraft server and later on, the @Fortnite event.

Viewers can earn exclusive channel badges during the stream, designed by @DavidReesDesign!!

[AutCraft @AutCraft]

June is Pride Month!

As we do each year, we've set up a whole new set of Pride Heads to collect, different from all of the previous years. This year we've added a new one so there are 21 to collect! Also, they're set on a 1 day timer meaning you can come back each day of the month to get another set.

In addition to the heads, there are map arts, books filled with relevant information, super cheap shops with lots of decoration items, and the admins will be sporting new skins which means Admin Pride 2026 heads to get!

On Autcraft, people are accepted for who they are. Everyone deserves to be their own true selves without question, without fear.

The pride area can be found at "/warp pride", a completely separate area that players can visit, or not, if they choose not to. Everyone deserves to be seen but also, no one needs to be forced to participate in something they don't wish to. So take part, or don't, it's up to you.. but either which way, Autcraft will be celebrating Pride along with our players who deserve to be celebrated.

[AutCraft @AutCraft]

Happy Mother's Day to all who are, were, or have been put into the role of mother. 💜

[AutCraft @AutCraft]

Sign onto the Autcraft server any time on May the Fourth and May the Fifth to receive a free Star Wars head in your inventory!

Make sure you have at least one empty spot in your inventory and make sure you are signing in at a location that has your regular inventory, so not RP world, or minigames.

[AutCraft @AutCraft]

May is Shiny Month!!

On Autcraft, all mobs drop heads. Animals, monsters, all of them. The chance of a head dropping is low, but given enough time, you should be able to collect them all. But what's more, if a head does drop, there's a small chance that it could be a shiny head. These are extra rare versions of mob heads that drop very even less frequently.

Except for the month of May. You see, May is shiny month, which means that heads will drop more often, and so will shiny heads!

For the entire month of May, drop rates will be increased. Not only that, we'll be adding new shiny heads to discover! Some of these new shiny heads will be available starting on the 1st of May, but others won't become available until further into the month. This will give everyone an equal opportunity to be the first to discover brand new shinies.

Oh, and before you ask... no, we won't tell you what the drop rates are. And also no, we won't tell you what mobs those new shinies will belong to. These are things that you will have to find out for yourself.

Good luck everybody!

[AutCraft @AutCraft]

https://t.co/8pEWBAgxGr

[Stuart Duncan @autismfather]

Not being heard is a big part of an autistic child's trauma later in life.

It's better to be told "no" a thousand times in a thousand different ways, and have the reason why explained each time, than to be told "no" once and never get a chance to ask why.

[AutCraft @AutCraft]

We've added a new feature to the item displays where you can now attach them to a wall, or floor, or chest... pretty much any surface.

The way this works is very simply... first, you create the item display, for example: /itemdisplay create GUNPOWDER

Then, you put your crosshair on the surface that you want to attach it to and type in /itemdisplay attach

That's it!

This is still a work in progress as some items don't line up quite right but we'll keep working on this to make it work well with every item. Also, just placing an item display in the world using coordinates is still possible as well so you have options to make these look just the way you want them to!

We encourage you to use these at your base, especially where you usually have a lot of item frames or signs to indicate an item. Item Displays cause 0 lag for you or the server and definitely look better.

[AutCraft @AutCraft]

Happy Easter!!

For Easter this year, we are featuring our classic Easter Egg hunt but this time, it's at a new spawn. So... we are giving you all 2 full days to find them all. There's 10 of them, they're all on the surface so you don't have to go into the mines this time.

What isn't 2 days long, however, is the Easter Dragon Egg. You can only get that by signing onto the server with at least one empty inventory slot before midnight, on Sunday night.

#autism #Minecraft #Easter

[AutCraft @AutCraft]

Autcraft has a new spawn!

When players join the server for the first time, or type in /spawn, this is where they will be.

We've worked extra hard to make this spawn not only look great, and feel fun, but its our most accessible spawn as well. Everything is easy to see and a short walk away. Everyhing is very clearly labeled and explained. An "info center" is right there, complete with explanations and examples of the most common commands that players will need to know.

Also, this spawn features a ton of life, with animals everywhere, mannequins in places to greet people, and of course, the new copper golems working hard in the storage areas. There's even an area prepared for the new "baby mobs" that are featured in Tiny Takeover.
(update coming soon!)

It was an absolute joy to see the players flood in at midnight when this new spawn went live and all the things they discovered as they explored.

Also, with this update, we introduced 3 new plugins for players to use at their own bases:
/itemdisplay
/textdisplay
/mannquin

With these plugins, players can now decorate and label and add life of their own to their own bases with ease. The commands are very intuitive and easy to use so that even the youngest of children can figure them out.

I, AutismFather, will be going live on Twitch at 12pm Eastern so that we can explore together, learn the new plugins together and, as an added bonus, celebrate Autism Acceptance Day together.
https://t.co/BdOi1diD7Z

It is April 2nd, Autism Acceptance Day, and that makes us very proud to show off our players and what they've accomplished, and more importantly who they are, because the world deserves to know that autistic people really can come together and create the best community on the internet.

#autism #minecraft #AutismAcceptanceDay

[AutCraft @AutCraft]

New Spawn coming Thursday, April 2nd - Autism Acceptance Day!

Autcraft has come a long way in the last 13 years, and so has its spawns. Going into our 13th year, we will be introducing our 7th new spawn, heavily inspired by the Age of Copper update. For this spawn, we went with a Steam Punk look, using lots of copper but also making things look natural and fun.

As always, our current spawn and all past spawns will still be on the server and players will be able to visit these places any time they want, but going forward, all new players and anyone who types in /spawn will be taken to the new spawn.

We've worked very hard to make this new spawn, not only beautiful, but also our most accessible spawn ever. The most important things to see and get to are front and center, the first things you see. And the "portal room" is no longer a room but more of a platform meaning you can see it and go into it from all sides.

One thing we love most about this new spawn is how alive it is. There's new mannequins around, with some familiar faces, there's copper golems actively working away, and best of all, natural life everywhere. Animals spawn in everywhere but also we have a farm set up where, when we do update, will feature the new Tiny Takeover baby mobs.

We know players are going to love this new spawn and we can't wait to show you!

#Minecraft #autism #AutismAcceptanceDay

[AutCraft @AutCraft]

It's okay. Breathe.

[AutCraft @AutCraft]

We've seen some concerns out there that Autcraft is "autism parent" centric rather than "autistic self-advocacy" focused.

1. I am an autistic parent of an autistic son. He was 8 years old when I started Autcraft.

2. Most of our admins are autistic parents of autistic children.

3. One of our admins is an autistic adult that does not have children at all.

4. Over the years, our staff has consisted of autistic adults, autistic parents, neurotypical parents of autistic children, autistic aunts, autistic brothers and sisters, as well as neurotypical brothers and sisters.

Autcraft works well because of our diversity, because we weigh and measure all suggestions and decisions together, hearing perspectives that are not our own.

When we added in visual aids for players, it wasn't because I can not see... it's because some of our players required it. When we choose not to include flashing lights in our events, it's not because I have epilepsy, it's because some of our staff and players do.

We have players from all over the world, in all walks of life, all living with very different strengths and weaknesses.

No one person has all the answers. It's only as a team, a diverse group of people focusing on a common goal, that something like a community the size of Autcraft could ever function at all.

[AutCraft @AutCraft]

Normal is not something you are.
Normal is something you feel.

In the autism community, the discussion about "being normal" comes up a lot and how "normal" isn't real, how nobody is truly "normal", how "normal" is just a setting on a washing machine.

To me, "normal" is how you feel when you've found the right people. Your people. People who understand you, who relate to you, who like the things you like, people who support and encourage you. That's how you feel normal.

When you like the same strange things, you eat the same strange foods, you have the same strange quirks... all these "strange" things are only strange to the wrong people. To the right people, your people, there's nothing strange about it at all. When you share those "strange things" together... they begin to feel normal. You begin to feel normal.

Stop trying to "be normal" for all the wrong people. Stop trying to be more like them and wondering why you feel like you don't belong.

If you don't feel normal, you're with the wrong people.