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HOL-D067Story implementation: In progress

Create a free account and become a paid member later

membership · Proposed launch phase 1

Start from Home

Review as Visitor

User story

As a visitor creating a free registered account, I want to keep my saved work and preferences when I later choose paid membership so I can continue from the reason I joined without starting over.

Draft requirements for review · Updated 2026-10-19

What the app should do

  • The new-member scenario begins on Visitor Home, then creates/uses a free Member account before a later paid upgrade. Retain actual supported profile/saves and the same person; choose an unpaid identity for the free stage.
  • Keep benefits and plans public; no membership trial or temporary premium unlock.
  • Use genuine isolated local account registration, password sign-in and captured email verification. Checkout is an explicit no-charge local test; collect no payment card.
  • Start with a continuing free account for an allowed public action, then upgrade that same account when ready; preserve its existing data and context.
  • Preserve the same account, chosen plan, safe original destination and supported profile/public-save data across verification, a new confirmation tab and return sessions.
  • Distinguish account verification, checkout review, pending membership intent and trusted active access. Failure or cancellation keeps free access and supported account data.
  • Only the trusted local backend outcome supplies membership entitlement. A selected plan, role, browser flag or success URL cannot activate access.

What to check in the demo

Follow these steps from the role’s landing page through navigation and feature checks.

Review as

Visitor

Start here: Home

Begin on Visitor Home while signed out. If an account is active, use the account/workspace menu → Sign out. Public browsing does not require an account.

Navigation from public entry

  1. 01Begin on Visitor Home, without signing in.
  2. 02From Visitor Home use footer Explore → Stories → Open Reading Wind on the Ridge.
  3. 03Select Save this story. The feature starts at creating/verifying the account needed to finish this public save.

Feature checks start here

Register for an allowed free action first, keep that free account useful without expiry, then upgrade that same account later.

October19 scoped dummy-account fixes are available in dev. Named Home/reload and truthful profile checks pass; exact no-preference Professional browser coverage awaits a suitable account. Full-story acceptance remains separate. Connected in dev; full acceptance remains In progress. The same free account upgraded with its profile preferences and saved public story intact. Paid Home uses the actual local entitlement; the remaining return/account-isolation browser matrix stays open.

  1. 04Start on Visitor Home, review free entry and then the paid path; verify the same named person and actual saved data/plan continuation. No paid entitlement is granted simply by selecting a role or preference.
  2. 05Create a new synthetic account, open the actual local confirmation email in a new tab if needed, then continue. Confirm that Reading Wind on the Ridge is saved and the account is still free.
  3. 06From Member Home, review the retained profile/preferences and saved public story. Paid stories stay locked; the free account has no expiry or trial.
  4. 07Use Membership or a paid-story prompt, select a plan and select Continue to checkout review using that same account.
  5. 08Confirm successful test payment, then Continue to Backcountry. Check the exact plan, retained profile/preferences and saved public work on the same account.
  6. 09On other attempts, exercise Test payment failure and Cancel checkout, then retry. The free account/data remain; selecting a plan alone never grants membership.

Backend work for this feature

Backend development authorized · Dev only

What needs to be supported

  • The new-member scenario begins on Visitor Home, then creates/uses a free Member account before a later paid upgrade. Retain actual supported profile/saves and the same person; choose an unpaid identity for the free stage.
  • Use D058 for authenticated identity/verification, safe return context and the selected owner-scoped persistence slice; do not implement another authentication system per path.
  • Use D069 for a validated account/plan-bound intent, trusted test-only activation, idempotent result and server-enforced free/paid access; client role/success URLs cannot grant real authority.
  • Register for an allowed free action first, keep that free account useful without expiry, then upgrade that same account later. Preserve account continuity and supported data across session interruption, duplicate completion, cancellation, failed and pending activation.
  • Prepare owner/other-user/signed-out tests and explicit recovery behavior in an isolated synthetic environment; use actual isolated local auth/intent/entitlement, with no real payment/email or hosted migration/connection.

How to verify in dev

  1. Start on Visitor Home, review free entry and then the paid path; verify the same named person and actual saved data/plan continuation. No paid entitlement is granted simply by selecting a role or preference.
  2. Execute this exact role path against D058/D069 and compare owner/account/plan/return identity before and after activation.
  3. Exercise cancel/fail/pending/expired-session and repeated/forged/cross-account completion; verify retained free data and no unauthorized paid grant.

Before this can work

  • Begin on Visitor Home while signed out. If an account is active, use the account/workspace menu → Sign out. Public browsing does not require an account.
  • Use a new synthetic account for a fresh Visitor path or your own verified free demo account for upgrade. Existing records remain intact.
  • Keep local test checkout separate from real payment. Full security and edge-case acceptance stays linked to D058, D085, D089 and D069.

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