Visibility Rules

Visibility rules control when content appears or disappears based on visitor beliefs. TractStack evaluates these rules in real-time to create adaptive content experiences.

Rule Types

Held Beliefs (Show Conditions)

Content with held belief rules only appears when visitors possess the specified beliefs.

Simple belief matching:

• Interest=BELIEVES_YES → Shows content to interested visitors
• UseCase=Developer → Shows developer-specific content
• Experience=Advanced → Shows advanced content

Multiple value matching:

• UseCase=Developer,Manager → Shows content for either developers OR managers
• Experience=Intermediate,Advanced → Shows content for intermediate OR advanced users

Wildcard matching:

• UseCase=* → Shows content if ANY UseCase value is set
• Useful for distinguishing personalized vs default content

Withheld Beliefs (Hide Conditions)

Content with withheld belief rules hides when visitors possess the specified beliefs.

Exclusion rules:

• Experience=Beginner → Hides advanced content from beginners
• Budget=Limited → Hides premium pricing from budget-conscious visitors
• Interest=BELIEVES_NO → Hides detailed content from uninterested visitors

Negative filtering:

• UseCase=Student → Hides enterprise features from students
• TechnicalLevel=Basic → Hides technical documentation

Advanced Logic

Match-Across (OR Logic)

Regular beliefs use AND logic (all conditions must match). Match-across beliefs use OR logic (any condition can match).

Standard AND logic:

• Held: Interest=BELIEVES_YES AND Experience=Advanced
• Both conditions must be true

Match-Across OR logic:

• Match-Across: Role=Admin,Developer,Manager
• Any one of these roles satisfies the condition

Complex combinations:

• Held: Interest=BELIEVES_YES AND Experience=Advanced
• Match-Across: Role=Admin,Developer
• Shows content if visitor is interested AND advanced AND (admin OR developer)

Linked Beliefs (Cascade Effects)

Linked beliefs automatically trigger related belief changes to maintain content consistency.

Cascade examples:

• Setting UseCase=Developer might automatically set TechnicalLevel=Advanced
• Selecting Company=Enterprise might set Budget=Flexible
• Choosing Experience=Beginner might set PreferSimpleExplanations=BELIEVES_YES

Consistency maintenance:

• Ensures coherent visitor experience across the site
• Prevents conflicting belief combinations
• Reduces visitor effort in declaring related preferences

Visibility Evaluation

Real-Time Processing

Evaluation sequence:

1. Visitor declares belief through widget interaction
2. System updates session storage with new belief
3. Visibility engine evaluates all pane requirements
4. Content reveals/hides based on updated belief state
5. Page updates without refresh using HTMX

Evaluation Logic

For each pane with visibility rules:

1. Check held beliefs: Do visitor’s beliefs match required beliefs?
2. Check withheld beliefs: Do visitor’s beliefs conflict with restrictions?
3. Apply match-across logic: Evaluate OR conditions
4. Final visibility: Show if held conditions met AND withheld conditions avoided

Example evaluation:

Pane requirements:
- Held: Interest=BELIEVES_YES, Experience=Advanced
- Withheld: Budget=Limited

Visitor beliefs:
- Interest=BELIEVES_YES ✓
- Experience=Advanced ✓
- Budget=Moderate ✓ (not Limited)

Result: VISIBLE

Configuration in StoryKeep

Setting Visibility Rules

Pane configuration process:

1. Edit story fragment containing the pane
2. Select pane to configure
3. Set belief requirements in pane settings
4. Configure held beliefs (show conditions)
5. Configure withheld beliefs (hide conditions)
6. Test visibility with different belief combinations

Magic Path Builder Interface

Visual configuration:

• Drag-and-drop belief selection
• Visual logic builder for complex conditions
• Real-time preview of visibility rules
• Testing interface with different belief scenarios

Testing and Preview

Belief Testing

Preview capabilities:

• Test different belief combinations to see content changes
• Preview as anonymous visitor (default state)
• Simulate belief declarations without affecting live site
• Validate rule logic before publishing

Quality Assurance

Rule verification:

• Logic validation: Ensure rules work as intended
• Content completeness: Verify all belief scenarios have appropriate content
• User experience testing: Smooth transitions between visibility states
• Analytics verification: Confirm tracking works with visibility changes

Common Patterns

Progressive Disclosure

Layered content revelation:

1. Default content: Visible to all visitors
2. Basic personalization: Simple belief-driven content
3. Deep personalization: Multiple belief requirements
4. Expert content: Advanced belief combinations

Example progression:

• Default: Basic product information
• Interest=YES: Detailed features and benefits
• Interest=YES + UseCase=Developer: Technical specifications
• Interest=YES + UseCase=Developer + Experience=Advanced: API documentation

Persona-Based Content

Role-specific information:

• UseCase=Developer → Technical documentation, code examples
• UseCase=Manager → ROI information, team collaboration features
• UseCase=Student → Educational pricing, learning resources

Experience-based adaptation:

• Experience=Beginner → Step-by-step guides, basic concepts
• Experience=Advanced → Advanced techniques, customization options

Contextual Adaptation

Situational content:

• Budget=Limited → Focus on cost-effective solutions
• Budget=Flexible → Premium options and advanced features
• Company=Startup → Scaling information, growth strategies
• Company=Enterprise → Compliance, security, integration features

Performance Considerations

Caching Strategy

Belief-aware caching:

• Anonymous visitors: Fully cached default content
• Belief holders: Dynamic content generation with selective caching
• Session-based: Cache personalized content per session
• Invalidation: Clear cache when beliefs change

Optimization Techniques

Efficient evaluation:

• Pre-computed visibility: Calculate common belief combinations
• Incremental updates: Only recalculate affected panes
• Lazy evaluation: Evaluate visibility on demand
• Batch processing: Group visibility updates for performance

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Visibility rules create the foundation for adaptive content experiences. Well-designed rules provide meaningful personalization while maintaining good performance and user experience.