The NY Times Select is now available free of charge, including its archives that go back to 1987. In a letter to readers, Senior Vice President & General Manager Vivian Schiller, wrote that since the launch of the TimesSelect online, the internet has changed dramatically. 
“In light of this shift, we believe offering unfettered access to New York Times reporting and analysis best serves the interest of our readers, our brand and the long-term vitality of our journalism. We encourage everyone to read our news and opinion – as well as share it, link to it and comment on it.”
Essentially, the Times understands that the webosphere is driven by linkage. It’s the online version of word of mouth. One thing that I know was available in the Times Select subscription (that used to cost an individual reader $30 per month) was the Bestseller list. I wonder if that will be made available online on Wednesdays instead of Sundays.
I don’t think people realize how many op-ed authors and blogs were included in the Times Select subscription. Hopefully now that it’s free, the Times will join the general blog culture along with the rest of us peons.
I’m thrilled to have free access to the archives and op-eds. It was worth paying for, but I missed being able to link to the articles.
The NYT blogs are interesting–they’re in the delicate position of trying to provide similar quality in all the blogs, without stifling the individualistic content that makes them blogs rather than NYT editorials. So far I think they’re negotiating it pretty well. But I wish they’d publish full RSS feeds. They aren’t set up to provide full feeds with ads, so they provide partial feeds and force all readers to hit the NYT site. That’s not the way to keep me engaged!