What is the difference between "hottest topics" and "recent topics"?

[Anonymous]

Just wondering what the difference between "hottest topics" and "recent topics"?

[Anonymous]

Oh wait, is it just the number of replies that makes it a "hot topic"?

[jsteele]

Recent topics are topics that have had a recent post. Hottest topics are topics that have a lot of posts, but the messages may not be very new. If you login, you get a third option which is "Read new messages since my last visit". I find that to be the most useful. Recent and Hottest topics are limited to 50 topics, whereas "Read new messages since my last visit" will show all the topics that have been updated since your last visit.

[Anonymous]

Got it, thanks.

That is interesting about the "Read new messages..." option. Another perk for no longer being anonymous