Hero stats: animate the swap, and always start on the highlights

ddiff --git a/public/css/style.css b/public/css/style.css
iindex 87d91711..fe4c4d50 100644
---- a/public/css/style.css
++++ b/public/css/style.css
@@@ -14845,14 +14845,17 @@ a .arena-thread:hover { color: var(--text-primary); background: color-mix(in srg
  .hero-stat-more i { font-size: 0.7rem; transition: transform 0.28s cubic-bezier(.2, 1, .3, 1); }
  .hero-stat-more.is-open i { transform: rotate(180deg); }
  .hero-stat-full { border-top: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 12%, transparent); }
--.hero-stat-full:not([hidden]) { animation: heroStatsOpen 0.4s cubic-bezier(.2, 1, .3, 1); }
--@keyframes heroStatsOpen { from { opacity: 0; transform: translateY(-6px); } to { opacity: 1; transform: none; } }
++/* The incoming block fades up while the container animates its height — see the swap() helper.
++   Only the element that is arriving animates, so the one leaving doesn't flash on its way out. */
++.hero-stat-full.is-entering, .hero-stat-strip.is-entering { animation: heroStatsOpen 0.42s cubic-bezier(.2, 1, .3, 1); }
++@keyframes heroStatsOpen { from { opacity: 0; transform: translateY(-7px); } to { opacity: 1; transform: none; } }
  .hero-stat-full .hero-stat-group:first-child { border-top: 0; }
  @media (max-width: 640px) {
      .hero-stats { min-height: 182px; }
  }
  @media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
--    .hero-stat-full:not([hidden]) { animation: none; }
++    .hero-stat-full.is-entering, .hero-stat-strip.is-entering { animation: none; }
++    .hero-stats.is-swapping { transition: none; }
      .hero-stat-more i { transition: none; }
  }
  
@@@ -15051,3 +15054,13 @@ a .arena-thread:hover { color: var(--text-primary); background: color-mix(in srg
      .hero-stat-delta { font-size: 0.55rem; padding: 1px 5px 1px 3px; }
      .hero-stat-delta em { display: none; }
  }
++
++
++/* Height is pinned only while the board is swapping between the strip and the full set, so the
++   container can still grow freely the rest of the time. min-height would fight an explicit
++   height on the way down, so it is dropped for the duration of the animation. */
++.hero-stats.is-swapping {
++    overflow: hidden;
++    min-height: 0 !important;
++    transition: height 0.42s cubic-bezier(.2, 1, .3, 1);
++}
ddiff --git a/public/index.html b/public/index.html
iindex cc4a71d4..ab1e6e3d 100644
---- a/public/index.html
++++ b/public/index.html
@@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@
           overlay) and is fetched without blocking the first paint: media="print" makes the browser
           treat it as non-critical, and the onload flips it back to all once it has arrived. -->
      <link rel="preconnect" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com" crossorigin>
--    <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/style.css?v=178">
++    <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/style.css?v=179">
      <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/home-fx.css?v=11">
      <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/home-tour.css?v=7">
      <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/i18n-star.css?v=5">
@@@ -5130,7 +5130,7 @@ curl -s https://openvibe.media/live/@Goosely/chat-insight.json | jq ".chat_insig
  <script src="/live-notify.js?v=3" defer></script>
  <script src="/js/ov-skeleton.js?v=1" defer></script>
  <script src="/js/ov-odometer.js?v=3" defer></script>
--<script src="/js/app.js?v=154" defer></script>
++<script src="/js/app.js?v=155" defer></script>
  <script src="/js/stream-player.js?v=22" defer></script>
  <script src="/js/stream-pip.js?v=1" defer></script>
  <script src="/js/chat-shared.js?v=3" defer></script>
ddiff --git a/public/js/app.js b/public/js/app.js
iindex 473a995c..edde86ed 100644
---- a/public/js/app.js
++++ b/public/js/app.js
@@@ -1469,7 +1469,10 @@ function renderHeroStats(stats) {
          { key: 'streamers', icon: 'fa-satellite-dish', num: stats.streamers, label: 'Streamers', title: 'People who have gone live here' },
          { key: 'hoursWatched', icon: 'fa-couch', num: stats.hoursWatched, label: 'Hours watched', title: 'Hours the community has spent watching', recent: R.hours },
      ];
--    const open = (() => { try { return localStorage.getItem('ov_stats_open') === '1'; } catch { return false; } })();
++    // Always starts collapsed. Persisting "expanded" meant every reload rendered and counted up
++    // two dozen extra chips before the page had finished loading, for a view the reader asked for
++    // once, days ago. The toggle still holds for as long as they're on the page.
++    const open = false;
      wrap.innerHTML = `
          <div class="hero-stat-strip">${HEADLINE.map(chip).join('')}</div>
          <button type="button" class="hero-stat-more" id="hero-stat-more" aria-expanded="${open}" aria-controls="hero-stat-full">
@@@ -1490,11 +1493,48 @@ function renderHeroStats(stats) {
      const label = () => { btn.querySelector('span').textContent = full.hidden ? `All ${total} numbers` : 'Just the highlights'; };
      const sync = () => { strip.hidden = !full.hidden; btn.classList.toggle('is-open', !full.hidden); label(); };
      sync();
--    btn.addEventListener('click', () => {
--        full.hidden = !full.hidden;
--        btn.setAttribute('aria-expanded', String(!full.hidden));
++
++    /**
++     * Swap between the strip and the full board as one movement.
++     *
++     * Toggling `hidden` on both made them vanish and appear in the same frame, with everything
++     * below snapping up or down by several hundred pixels. Instead: measure the height before and
++     * after, pin the container to the old height, then let it transition to the new one while the
++     * incoming block fades up. The container is only height-constrained during the animation, so
++     * nothing is clipped once it settles and the board can still grow if a number gets longer.
++     */
++    let swapping = 0;
++    const reduced = window.matchMedia && window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)').matches;
++    const swap = () => {
++        const toOpen = full.hidden;
++        if (reduced) {
++            full.hidden = !toOpen; sync();
++            btn.setAttribute('aria-expanded', String(toOpen));
++            return;
++        }
++        const h0 = wrap.offsetHeight;
++        full.hidden = !toOpen;
          sync();
--        try { localStorage.setItem('ov_stats_open', full.hidden ? '0' : '1'); } catch { /* */ }
++        btn.setAttribute('aria-expanded', String(toOpen));
++        const h1 = wrap.offsetHeight;
++
++        clearTimeout(swapping);
++        wrap.classList.add('is-swapping');
++        wrap.style.height = `${h0}px`;
++        const entering = toOpen ? full : strip;
++        entering.classList.remove('is-entering');
++        void entering.offsetWidth;
++        entering.classList.add('is-entering');
++        requestAnimationFrame(() => { wrap.style.height = `${h1}px`; });
++        swapping = setTimeout(() => {
++            wrap.style.height = '';
++            wrap.classList.remove('is-swapping');
++            entering.classList.remove('is-entering');
++        }, 460);
++    };
++
++    btn.addEventListener('click', () => {
++        swap();
          // Count the numbers up the first time they are actually looked at.
          if (!full.hidden) full.querySelectorAll('.hero-stat-num:not([data-counted])').forEach(el => {
              el.setAttribute('data-counted', '1'); _heroCountUp(el, parseInt(el.dataset.n, 10) || 0);