I have tried to sign up for this with my college email address many a time (every couple of months or so) and have never gotten the sign-up reply email. Has anyone else had this difficulty or is it just me?

forget it if you do not have a .edu account. While they are looking at ways to open it up to people in the k12 realm, its only available for colleges and thats it.

How long before they start posting language limiting this to current students, and then screening out alumni addresses (i.e. johnsmith@alum.xyzuniv.edu)?

Sounds like it's time to register that "consumerist.edu" domain.

@djanes1

I've had the same problem too. I have no idea why but it has never come through for me either, despite having a .edu address.

@JustAGuy2: They already screen out alumni addresses for numerous schools.

@JustAGuy2: The TimesSelect site states, "You must be a student or faculty member with a valid college or university e-mail address to be eligible for this offer," and they have been screening alumni addresses since they rolled it out in March--I keep trying mine, to no avail.

You do realize that when you sign up, you're acknowledging that you are "a currently enrolled student or full-time faculty member," right? And that you're agreeing to the NY Times terms of use? And that, if you're merely alumni of a school, signing up for the free TimesSelect is, in no uncertain terms, fraud?

I love this site. But preaching corporate responsibility and practicing consumer responsibility go hand-in-hand. "Pesky five-dolla charges" indeed.

@RogueSophist: I actually am currently taking an online course in the History of the Russian Revolution, but thanks for playing.

Note that many public libraries also have free access to the Times Select archive. Some appear to give access to their patrons online via the library site, other require you to be in the library itself.

I feel list I've read this before. Oh wait, I have...

13 MAR 07 "Free NYT for Students, Teachers": http://consumerist.com/consumer/nyt/free-nyt-for-students-...

20 MAR 07 "Put Down Your #2 Pencils And Use Your .EDU Email To Get Free TimesSelect": http://consumerist.com/consumer/free/get-free-access-to-ti...

@tvh2k: WTF? Man, I need to start reading my own blog.

@tvh2k:
Yeah, I was thinking "I know I've heard that somewhere else recently" yesterday when I read a post about the ".edu" feature on NYT.

of course they're screening out alumni! If they let everyone who ever *went* to college have a free account, where would the market that would pay for an account come from? Not to say that Times readers are all smart and such, but a significant portion of the US population went to a college. A much smaller portion currently goes (or is employed by).

I imagine the Times did some demographics research before making this decision, and it seems like a pretty smart one. Get you hooked when you're young and impressionable, and then the times select monthly payment goes right next to the student loans in the bill queue.

@Ben Popken:

I wasn't suggesting that you weren't currently enrolled at a qualifying school. I was commenting on the tone of the post -- "If you have access to your college email address" (why wouldn't a current student/faculty member have access to his or her e-mail address?) -- which seemed to suggest that we should all try to access this "free" content if possible.

If I was reading too much into it, then I apologize.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I'd love to have free access and I do have my college (non-alumni) email address still... but I feel like it's just not right to lie in order to get it; I'm not a student.

as a sophomore in college, I have had the free Times Select for a few months now, and its a great free service to college students. If it wasn't free, I and most other college student would never pay for the service....since we are all trying to save money anywhere we can.

I wish that more college students would take advantage of this free service, buy many simply don't care about the news today. So far i have gotten 1 friend to sign up for the service, but i don't think he ever uses it.

I have access to two .EDU addresses, one from my previous university and one from my current one. Both of them received the confirmation e-mail within seconds.