fix: [VISITOR] Distinguish visitor mode from operator mode in the Nexus UI (closes #710)

app.js

@@ -48,6 +48,9 @@ let chatOpen = true;
 let loadProgress = 0;
 let performanceTier = 'high';
 
+// ═══ UI MODE (VISITOR / OPERATOR) ═══
+let uiMode = 'visitor'; // 'visitor' | 'operator'
+
 // ═══ HERMES WS STATE ═══
 let hermesWs = null;
 let wsReconnectTimer = null;
@@ -1867,6 +1870,9 @@ function setupControls() {
     if (e.key.toLowerCase() === 'v' && document.activeElement !== document.getElementById('chat-input')) {
       cycleNavMode();
     }
+    if (e.key.toLowerCase() === 'o' && document.activeElement !== document.getElementById('chat-input')) {
+      toggleUIMode();
+    }
     if (e.key.toLowerCase() === 'f' && activePortal && !portalOverlayActive) {
       activatePortal(activePortal);
     }
@@ -1964,18 +1970,9 @@ function setupControls() {
   });
   document.getElementById('chat-send').addEventListener('click', () => sendChatMessage());
   
-  // Add MemPalace mining button
+  // Add MemPalace mining button (operator-only)
   document.querySelector('.chat-quick-actions').innerHTML += `
-    <button class="quick-action-btn" onclick="mineMemPalaceContent()">Mine Chat</button>
-    <div id="mem-palace-stats" class="mem-palace-stats">
-      <div>Compression: <span id="compression-ratio">--</span>x</div>
-      <div>Docs: <span id="docs-mined">0</span></div>
-      <div>AAAK: <span id="aaak-size">0B</span></div>
-      <div>Compression: <span id="compression-ratio">--</span>x</div>
-      <div>Docs: <span id="docs-mined">0</span></div>
-      <div>AAAK: <span id="aaak-size">0B</span></div>
-      <div class="mem-palace-logs" style="margin-top:4px; font-size:10px; color:#4af0c0;">Logs: <span id="mem-logs">0</span></div>
-    </div>
+    <button class="quick-action-btn operator-only" onclick="mineMemPalaceContent()">Mine Chat</button>
   `;
   
   // Chat quick actions
@@ -2006,6 +2003,53 @@ function setupControls() {
   
   document.getElementById('atlas-toggle-btn').addEventListener('click', openPortalAtlas);
   document.getElementById('atlas-close-btn').addEventListener('click', closePortalAtlas);
+
+  // ═══ VISITOR / OPERATOR MODE TOGGLE ═══
+  // Restore saved mode from localStorage
+  const savedMode = localStorage.getItem('nexus-ui-mode');
+  if (savedMode === 'operator') {
+    uiMode = 'operator';
+  }
+  applyUIMode();
+
+  // Create and append mode toggle button to the HUD controls area
+  const modeBtn = document.createElement('button');
+  modeBtn.id = 'mode-toggle-btn';
+  modeBtn.className = 'mode-toggle-btn';
+  modeBtn.setAttribute('data-mode', uiMode);
+  modeBtn.innerHTML = modeToggleLabel();
+  modeBtn.title = uiMode === 'visitor' ? 'Switch to Operator mode' : 'Switch to Visitor mode';
+  modeBtn.addEventListener('click', toggleUIMode);
+
+  const hudEl = document.getElementById('hud');
+  if (hudEl) hudEl.appendChild(modeBtn);
+}
+
+function toggleUIMode() {
+  uiMode = uiMode === 'visitor' ? 'operator' : 'visitor';
+  localStorage.setItem('nexus-ui-mode', uiMode);
+  applyUIMode();
+
+  // Update button
+  const btn = document.getElementById('mode-toggle-btn');
+  if (btn) {
+    btn.setAttribute('data-mode', uiMode);
+    btn.innerHTML = modeToggleLabel();
+    btn.title = uiMode === 'visitor' ? 'Switch to Operator mode' : 'Switch to Visitor mode';
+  }
+
+  addChatMessage('system', `Mode: ${uiMode.toUpperCase()}. ${uiMode === 'operator' ? 'Operator panels enabled.' : 'Visitor view. Clean and focused.'}`);
+}
+
+function modeToggleLabel() {
+  if (uiMode === 'visitor') {
+    return '<span class="mode-icon">👁</span> VISITOR';
+  }
+  return '<span class="mode-icon">⚙</span> OPERATOR';
+}
+
+function applyUIMode() {
+  document.body.classList.toggle('visitor-mode', uiMode === 'visitor');
 }
 
 function sendChatMessage(overrideText = null) {
@@ -3355,11 +3399,20 @@ init().then(() => {
 
   // Project Mnemosyne — seed demo spatial memories
   const demoMemories = [
-    { id: 'mem_nexus_birth',     content: 'The Nexus came online — first render of the 3D world',         category: 'knowledge',   strength: 0.95, connections: ['mem_mnemosyne_start'] },
-    { id: 'mem_first_portal',    content: 'First portal deployed — connection to external service',        category: 'engineering', strength: 0.85, connections: ['mem_nexus_birth'] },
-    { id: 'mem_hermes_chat',     content: 'First conversation through the Hermes gateway',                 category: 'social',      strength: 0.70, connections: [] },
-    { id: 'mem_mnemosyne_start', content: 'Project Mnemosyne began — the living archive awakens',          category: 'projects',    strength: 0.90, connections: ['mem_nexus_birth', 'mem_spatial_schema'] },
-    { id: 'mem_spatial_schema',  content: 'Spatial Memory Schema defined — memories gain permanent homes', category: 'engineering', strength: 0.80, connections: ['mem_mnemosyne_start'] },
+    { id: 'mem_nexus_birth', content: 'The Nexus came online — first render of the 3D world', category: 'knowledge', strength: 0.95, connections: ['mem_mnemosyne_start'] },
+    { id: 'mem_first_portal', content: 'First portal deployed — connection to external service', category: 'engineering', strength: 0.85, connections: ['mem_nexus_birth'] },
+    { id: 'mem_hermes_chat', content: 'First conversation through the Hermes gateway', category: 'social', strength: 0.7, connections: [] },
+    { id: 'mem_mnemosyne_start', content: 'Project Mnemosyne began — the living archive awakens', category: 'projects', strength: 0.9, connections: ['mem_nexus_birth', 'mem_spatial_schema'] },
+    { id: 'mem_spatial_schema', content: 'Spatial Memory Schema defined — memories gain permanent homes', category: 'engineering', strength: 0.8, connections: ['mem_mnemosyne_start'] },
+    // MemPalace category zone demos — issue #1168
+    { id: 'mem_pref_dark_mode', content: 'User prefers dark mode and monospace fonts', category: 'user_pref', strength: 0.9, connections: [] },
+    { id: 'mem_pref_verbose_logs', content: 'User prefers verbose logging during debug sessions', category: 'user_pref', strength: 0.7, connections: [] },
+    { id: 'mem_proj_nexus_goal', content: 'The Nexus goal: local-first 3D training ground for Timmy', category: 'project', strength: 0.95, connections: ['mem_proj_mnemosyne'] },
+    { id: 'mem_proj_mnemosyne', content: 'Project Mnemosyne: holographic living archive of facts', category: 'project', strength: 0.85, connections: ['mem_proj_nexus_goal'] },
+    { id: 'mem_tool_three_js', content: 'Three.js — 3D rendering library used for the Nexus world', category: 'tool', strength: 0.8, connections: [] },
+    { id: 'mem_tool_gitea', content: 'Gitea API at forge.alexanderwhitestone.com for issue tracking', category: 'tool', strength: 0.75, connections: [] },
+    { id: 'mem_gen_websocket', content: 'WebSocket bridge (server.py) connects Timmy cognition to the browser', category: 'general', strength: 0.7, connections: [] },
+    { id: 'mem_gen_hermes', content: 'Hermes harness: telemetry and durable truth pipeline', category: 'general', strength: 0.65, connections: [] },
   ];
   demoMemories.forEach(m => SpatialMemory.placeMemory(m));
 

index.html

@@ -157,7 +157,8 @@
   <!-- Controls hint + nav mode -->
   <div class="hud-controls">
     <span>WASD</span> move &nbsp; <span>Mouse</span> look &nbsp; <span>Enter</span> chat &nbsp;
-    <span>V</span> mode: <span id="nav-mode-label">WALK</span>
+    <span>V</span> nav: <span id="nav-mode-label">WALK</span> &nbsp;
+    <span>O</span> toggle mode &nbsp;
     <span id="nav-mode-hint" class="nav-mode-hint"></span>
     &nbsp; <span class="ws-hud-status">HERMES: <span id="ws-status-dot" class="chat-status-dot"></span></span>
   </div>

nexus/components/spatial-memory.js

@@ -8,12 +8,20 @@
 // holographic archive.
 //
 // World layout (hex cylinder, radius 25):
-//   North (z-)  → Documents & Knowledge
-//   South (z+)  → Projects & Tasks
-//   East  (x+)  → Code & Engineering
-//   West  (x-)  → Conversations & Social
-//   Center      → Active Working Memory
-//   Below (y-)  → Archive (cold storage)
+//
+//   Inner ring — original Mnemosyne taxonomy (radius 15):
+//     North (z-)  → Documents & Knowledge
+//     South (z+)  → Projects & Tasks
+//     East  (x+)  → Code & Engineering
+//     West  (x-)  → Conversations & Social
+//     Center      → Active Working Memory
+//     Below (y-)  → Archive (cold storage)
+//
+//   Outer ring — MemPalace category zones (radius 20, issue #1168):
+//     North (z-)  → User Preferences   [golden]
+//     East  (x+)  → Project facts      [blue]
+//     South (z+)  → Tool knowledge     [green]
+//     West  (x-)  → General facts      [gray]
 //
 // Usage from app.js:
 //   SpatialMemory.init(scene);
@@ -73,6 +81,44 @@ const SpatialMemory = (() => {
       color: 0x334455,
       glyph: '\uD83D\uDDC4',
       description: 'Cold storage — rarely accessed, aged-out memories'
+    },
+
+    // ── MemPalace category zones — outer ring, issue #1168 ────────────
+    user_pref: {
+      label: 'User Preferences',
+      center: [0, 0, -20],
+      radius: 10,
+      color: 0xffd700,
+      glyph: '\u2605',
+      description: 'Personal preferences, habits, user-specific settings',
+      labelY: 5
+    },
+    project: {
+      label: 'Project Facts',
+      center: [20, 0, 0],
+      radius: 10,
+      color: 0x4488ff,
+      glyph: '\uD83D\uDCC1',
+      description: 'Project-specific knowledge, goals, context',
+      labelY: 5
+    },
+    tool: {
+      label: 'Tool Knowledge',
+      center: [0, 0, 20],
+      radius: 10,
+      color: 0x44cc66,
+      glyph: '\uD83D\uDD27',
+      description: 'Tools, commands, APIs, and how to use them',
+      labelY: 5
+    },
+    general: {
+      label: 'General Facts',
+      center: [-20, 0, 0],
+      radius: 10,
+      color: 0x8899aa,
+      glyph: '\uD83D\uDCDD',
+      description: 'Miscellaneous facts not fitting other categories',
+      labelY: 5
     }
   };
 
@@ -99,6 +145,7 @@ const SpatialMemory = (() => {
     const cx = region.center[0];
     const cy = region.center[1] + 0.06;
     const cz = region.center[2];
+    const labelY = region.labelY || 3;
 
     const ringGeo = new THREE.RingGeometry(region.radius - 0.5, region.radius, 6);
     const ringMat = new THREE.MeshBasicMaterial({
@@ -126,6 +173,22 @@ const SpatialMemory = (() => {
     _scene.add(ring);
     _scene.add(disc);
 
+    // Ground glow — brighter disc for MemPalace zones (labelY > 3 signals outer ring)
+    let glowDisc = null;
+    if (labelY > 3) {
+      const glowGeo = new THREE.CircleGeometry(region.radius, 32);
+      const glowMat = new THREE.MeshBasicMaterial({
+        color: region.color,
+        transparent: true,
+        opacity: 0.06,
+        side: THREE.DoubleSide
+      });
+      glowDisc = new THREE.Mesh(glowGeo, glowMat);
+      glowDisc.rotation.x = -Math.PI / 2;
+      glowDisc.position.set(cx, cy - 0.02, cz);
+      _scene.add(glowDisc);
+    }
+
     // Floating label
     const canvas = document.createElement('canvas');
     canvas.width = 256;
@@ -139,11 +202,11 @@ const SpatialMemory = (() => {
     const texture = new THREE.CanvasTexture(canvas);
     const spriteMat = new THREE.SpriteMaterial({ map: texture, transparent: true, opacity: 0.6 });
     const sprite = new THREE.Sprite(spriteMat);
-    sprite.position.set(cx, 3, cz);
+    sprite.position.set(cx, labelY, cz);
     sprite.scale.set(4, 1, 1);
     _scene.add(sprite);
 
-    return { ring, disc, sprite };
+    return { ring, disc, glowDisc, sprite };
   }
 
   // ─── PLACE A MEMORY ──────────────────────────────────
@@ -283,6 +346,9 @@ const SpatialMemory = (() => {
       if (marker.ring && marker.ring.material) {
         marker.ring.material.opacity = 0.1 + Math.sin(now * 0.001) * 0.05;
       }
+      if (marker.glowDisc && marker.glowDisc.material) {
+        marker.glowDisc.material.opacity = 0.04 + Math.sin(now * 0.0008) * 0.02;
+      }
     });
   }
 

style.css

@@ -1580,3 +1580,84 @@ canvas#nexus-canvas {
   text-transform: uppercase;
 }
 
+/* === VISITOR / OPERATOR MODE TOGGLE === */
+.mode-toggle-btn {
+  position: absolute;
+  bottom: var(--space-3);
+  right: var(--space-3);
+  pointer-events: auto;
+  background: rgba(10, 15, 40, 0.7);
+  border: 1px solid var(--color-primary);
+  color: var(--color-primary);
+  padding: 6px 14px;
+  font-family: var(--font-display);
+  font-size: 10px;
+  font-weight: 600;
+  letter-spacing: 0.12em;
+  cursor: pointer;
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 8px;
+  backdrop-filter: blur(5px);
+  transition: all var(--transition-ui);
+  z-index: 20;
+}
+
+.mode-toggle-btn:hover {
+  background: var(--color-primary);
+  color: var(--color-bg);
+  box-shadow: 0 0 15px var(--color-primary);
+}
+
+.mode-toggle-btn .mode-icon {
+  font-size: 14px;
+}
+
+.mode-toggle-btn[data-mode="operator"] {
+  border-color: var(--color-gold);
+  color: var(--color-gold);
+  box-shadow: 0 0 8px rgba(255, 215, 0, 0.15);
+}
+
+.mode-toggle-btn[data-mode="operator"]:hover {
+  background: var(--color-gold);
+  color: var(--color-bg);
+  box-shadow: 0 0 15px var(--color-gold);
+}
+
+/* Visitor mode: hide operator-only surfaces */
+body.visitor-mode .gofai-hud,
+body.visitor-mode .hud-agent-log,
+body.visitor-mode .hud-debug,
+body.visitor-mode .bannerlord-hud,
+body.visitor-mode #mem-palace-status,
+body.visitor-mode #mem-palace-controls,
+body.visitor-mode #mempalace-results,
+body.visitor-mode .mem-palace-ui,
+body.visitor-mode .mem-palace-stats,
+body.visitor-mode .ws-hud-status,
+body.visitor-mode .chat-quick-actions .operator-only,
+body.visitor-mode .nexus-footer {
+  display: none !important;
+}
+
+/* Visitor mode: simplify controls hint */
+body.visitor-mode .hud-controls {
+  font-size: var(--text-xs);
+  opacity: 0.6;
+}
+
+/* Visitor mode: cleaner chat */
+body.visitor-mode .chat-panel {
+  width: 320px;
+  max-height: 300px;
+}
+
+/* Operator badge in operator mode */
+body:not(.visitor-mode) .hud-controls::after {
+  content: '  OPERATOR';
+  color: var(--color-gold);
+  font-weight: 700;
+  letter-spacing: 0.1em;
+}
+