How are messages sorted?

[Fathertime]

Ok, some most likely obvious questions.  Sorting topics by date.  Is there a way to sort new topics by date?  The first time I logged on I saw that option in the upper left corner, and it gave me just one topic, so I must be doing something wrong.  Can I sort them by the date the topic was started, and then when follow up comments are made?  (Scott starts a topic, sort by him.  Then Big IV comments, sort by his date).
  What do those little stars by names mean?

[Scott in Ok]

Messages are sorted by the LAST REPLY to the thread.  New posts bring a thread back to the top.

You can sort by the FIRST POST by clicking the column heading "Started by"

-Scott