Also, I think the NYT made it easy to bypass so they can pick up the non-savvy or richer readers who otherwise wouldn't pay for something that is literally free, while still not limitting access and thereby reach. It might not be incompetence.

It's a hard balance to strike, because the best advertising for your paper is articles people send to each other. If nobody can read them, then nobody will become intrigued by a subscription, but if they are totally free nobody will bother subscribing.

That's why some sites have a certain number of free articles a month.