Right. So for eight volumes this site has been, essentially, a very fancy static page. You could look at wines, read my ramblings, admire the charts. But it didn't know who you were. It was the same experience for everyone - a museum where you could stare at the exhibits but couldn't touch anything.

That's over. The site is alive now. It has accounts, personal pages, event signups, financial tracking, notifications - the whole lot. Let me walk you through what's changed.

Getting In

First things first: you can now create an account. But I'm not throwing the doors open for every random bot and wine-curious stranger on the internet. Registrations are invite-only - you request access, I review it, and if I recognise your name from, you know, actually drinking wine together, you get in.

Once you're in, you get a profile linked to your convive record - the same identity that's been tracking your tastings and scores all along. You can change your public name (the one everyone sees) anytime from your account settings. Your full name? That one's locked - you'll have to ask me to change it. Think of it as a minor bureaucratic inconvenience that keeps things tidy.

Your Personal Page (It's Actually Yours Now)

Remember the convive pages from Vol. 8? Those dashboards with wine stats, heatmaps, and all the pretty charts? They're still there. But now they're private.

If you're not logged in, or you're trying to peek at someone else's page - you get a 404. Not a "you don't have access" page, not a "please log in" prompt. A flat 404. As if the page doesn't exist. Because your tasting history is nobody's business but yours.

When you are logged in and looking at your own page, though - it's gotten even better. The overview tab now shows your upcoming events (the ones you've signed up for), your personal stats, and all the analytics from before. It's your wine command centre.

Event Signup

This is probably the biggest practical change. You can now sign up for events directly from the site. No more messages, no more "put me on the list" texts. Just click the button.

How It Works

• If there are spots available - you get a green Sign Up button and you're instantly confirmed
• If the event is full - you can join the waiting list, and you'll see your position (e.g., "#2 of 5")
• If someone cancels - the next person on the waiting list gets automatically promoted. No manual shuffling, no drama
• Need to bail? You can cancel your signup yourself - unless it's less than 24 hours before the event, at which point you'll need to reach out directly

Your Signup Status Is Everywhere

Once you've signed up, you'll see your status reflected across the site:

• Home page - the upcoming event banner shows whether you're enrolled, waitlisted, or haven't signed up yet
• Calendar - every event gets a badge showing your signup status
• Personal page - your upcoming events section shows what you've committed to

Your Score, Front and Centre

Two small changes that make a big difference when you're logged in.

On Event Reports

Every wine card in an event report now shows your score right on the card. No more scrolling through the full score table to find what you gave that mysterious Georgian orange wine. It's just... there. Right where it should be.

On Wine Pages

When you open a wine you've tasted before, you'll see a "Your Tastings" section - your score, when you had it, where, and at which event. If others tasted it with you, their avatars show up too, along with their scores. It's like a little reunion of everyone who suffered through that questionable natural wine together.

The Ledger

Yes, we have a full financial ledger now. I know, I know - finances and wine in the same sentence feels wrong. But someone has to keep track of who owes what.

Your personal page now has a Ledger tab where you can see:

• Your current balance (green means you're ahead, red means... well, you know)
• Every transaction - event charges, payments, refunds - with a running total
• After each event, you'll get a settlement breakdown: the base fee, any personal orders, extra wines, and who covered what for whom

And if your balance is looking a bit red, there's a top-up option right there. No need to chase me down at the next tasting.

Avatars

You can now upload a profile photo from your account settings. It gets automatically cropped to a square and resized - so no, your 10MB holiday selfie won't break anything. Once set, your avatar shows up everywhere: your profile, event participant lists, the co-tasters section on wine pages. It makes the whole site feel a bit more human.

Telegram Bot

Alright, this one's exciting. We have a Telegram bot.

Linking Your Account

From your account settings, hit "Link Telegram". You'll get a one-time code - either send it to the bot manually, or just tap "Open in Telegram" and it'll handle itself. The code expires in 10 minutes, because security, etc.

What It Does

Once linked, the bot sends you notifications for:

• 🆕 New events - when registration opens, you get the details and a direct link to sign up
• ✅ Signup confirmation - immediate confirmation with an "Add to Calendar" button
• ⏳ Waitlist updates - if you're on the waiting list and a spot opens up, you'll know instantly
• 🔔 Event reminders - a nudge before the event with time, venue, and a link to the location
• 💰 Settlement results - after each event, a detailed breakdown of what you owe or what's owed to you, plus your updated balance

And here's the nice bit - you can toggle each notification type individually. Don't care about reminders? Turn them off. Only want settlement notifications? Sure. It's all in your account settings, right next to the Telegram link status.

Account Settings

Just a quick note on the account page since I've been mentioning it throughout. In one place, you can:

• Upload or change your avatar
• Edit your public name (visible to everyone)
• Change your password
• Link or unlink Telegram (with notification preferences)

Your full name is set by me when I approve your registration - if you need it changed, just ask.

What's Next?

The site being dynamic opens up a lot of possibilities that simply weren't there before. There's more coming - more personalisation, more ways to interact with the data, more reasons to actually log in. But I'll save the specifics for the next post. No spoilers.

The Honest Bit

For a long time, this site was a one-way street - I wrote stuff, you read it, done. Now it's finally starting to become something you actually use. Sign up for events without texting me. Track your finances without asking me for a spreadsheet. See your own scores without digging through reports. That's the whole point.

Try it. Break it. Tell me what's missing.

Santé 🥂

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