diff --git a/src/AcDream.App/UI/Layout/CharacterStatController.cs b/src/AcDream.App/UI/Layout/CharacterStatController.cs
index 7b7e6a6f..282d94d6 100644
--- a/src/AcDream.App/UI/Layout/CharacterStatController.cs
+++ b/src/AcDream.App/UI/Layout/CharacterStatController.cs
@@ -333,6 +333,19 @@ public static class CharacterStatController
         // the LAST copy of each id; the others live in the VISIBLE Attributes page and must
         // also be hidden.
         //
+        // WHY this cannot be done in the importer (dat state-model audit 2026-06-26):
+        // All three group elements have DefaultState = StatManagement_Footer_Default
+        // (0x10000011) — the dat does NOT differentiate them by visibility. The parent
+        // element (0x1000022F) has a States map {Default, Text, Meter} with PassToChildren=
+        // true, but each child group also registers all three states (IncFlags=None,
+        // Media=0) — meaning the state-propagation produces no media change on any group.
+        // Retail's gmStatManagementUI uses hardcoded element-id dispatch
+        // (GetChildRecursive(this, 0x10000240) for Default, 0x10000241 for Text, 0x10000247
+        // for Meter) to access the right group's children at runtime — the groups themselves
+        // are never hidden/shown via the dat state mechanism.  The controller is the correct
+        // and only place for this visibility management.  See retail decomp
+        // gmStatManagementUI::GetFooterTitleLabel @0x004f0170.
+        //
         // Strategy: walk the Attributes page (the root child that contains the NameId anchor)
         // and hide every UiDatElement whose ElementId matches B or C.  The page-visibility
         // pass hides everything in the Skills/Titles pages, so we only need to act on the
@@ -368,6 +381,12 @@ public static class CharacterStatController
         }
 
         // ── Active-page selection (fixes the dark-overlay) ─────────────────────
+        // WHY this cannot be done in the importer (dat state-model audit 2026-06-26):
+        // The three tab-page content areas (0x1000022B Attributes, 0x1000022C Skills,
+        // 0x10000539 Titles) all have DefaultState = Undef (0) — the dat carries no
+        // visibility encoding for tabs. Tab visibility is managed at runtime by gmTabUI
+        // via SetVisible(bool) on the page containers.  The controller is the correct
+        // and only place for initial tab-page selection.
         if (layout.FindElement(NameId) is { } anchor && layout.Root is { } root)
         {
             foreach (var page in root.Children)
diff --git a/src/AcDream.App/UI/Layout/LayoutImporter.cs b/src/AcDream.App/UI/Layout/LayoutImporter.cs
index 49130206..24fb30f0 100644
--- a/src/AcDream.App/UI/Layout/LayoutImporter.cs
+++ b/src/AcDream.App/UI/Layout/LayoutImporter.cs
@@ -186,6 +186,25 @@ public static class LayoutImporter
     /// Dat shell: load the LayoutDesc, resolve inheritance for every top-level
     /// element, and build the widget tree. Returns null if the layout is absent
     /// from the dats.
+    ///
+    /// <para>
+    /// <b>Dat UIState visibility model (2026-06-26 audit):</b>
+    /// The dat's <c>ElementDesc.DefaultState</c> field specifies which SPRITE/MEDIA
+    /// state an element starts in (e.g., <c>Normal</c>, <c>Minimized</c>). It does
+    /// NOT encode visibility of sibling Group containers. The <c>StateDesc</c>'s
+    /// <see cref="DatReaderWriter.Enums.IncorporationFlags"/> contains X/Y/Width/Height/
+    /// ZLevel/PassToChildren — there is no Visible flag.
+    /// </para>
+    ///
+    /// <para>
+    /// Windows that display multiple sibling Group containers at the same position
+    /// (the character footer's three state-groups; the tab-page content areas) manage
+    /// visibility purely at runtime via C++ controller code. Retail uses
+    /// <c>UIElement::SetState(stateId)</c> on the parent to propagate state, then
+    /// C++ getters access the right sub-group by element id. All groups are shipped
+    /// as visible in the imported widget tree; the relevant controllers
+    /// (<see cref="CharacterStatController"/>) perform the initial show/hide.
+    /// </para>
     /// </summary>
     /// <param name="fontResolve">Optional per-element font resolver (see
     /// <see cref="Build"/> for details). Null = original single-font behavior.</param>