Two years ago the New York Times became a poster child for web fees, or charging for online content that most surfers expect for free. The world's most-read newspaper online started charging $US49.95 a year if you wanted to read its columnists, and access its archives (collectively called 'Times Select').

Hooked on my Maureen Dowd fix, I actually signed up, and I wasn't alone. Today, the Times says it has 227,000 people paying to read its online edition (which print subscribers can access free), generating $US10 million a year. The Times apparent success was enough to provoke nzherald.co.nz and stuff.co.nz into momentary paid content forays for star columnists and archives.

But all was not what it seems. The Times' 23 columnists complained they were losing influence as the vast majority of the site's millions of visitors stuck with the freebie content. And the advertising bods said money from more visitors would easily outweigh the income from paid subs. So: from tomorrow you'll be able to read all the columnists - and everything else, including the past 20 years' of archives - for free again. Though there is one difference: Times Select is now brought to you by American Express.