> > > Just one question - how is "most recent" determined? The date of the first message in the
> > > thread? The last?
>
> Now, how about answering my question?
>
> (Which, in case you misread it, was "How do you decide which are the eight most recent threads?"

Is that what your question asked? Anyway, it's the date of the first message in the thread.
The threads are sorted just as they were originally.