I like your "date created" suggestion, however, I think the "total merited" column would be an even better addition to the forum.
With said new column, you can at first glance see which thread are worthwhile reading.
But since the Epochtalk software is being developed and possibly available in the next few months (before the end of the year) I don't know if it will be taken into consideration.
That'd instantly stall any newbie from making any threads because he'll never get any clicks on the face value of the thread.
Every thread, no matter how stupid the content, deserves to be looked at, at least once, even if it is to simply discredit the content.
Well,
With the new sorting column, any newbie could go to the Beginner section and have a look to the most merited threads.
The most merited threads are deemed to be the most useful/interesting, right?
As a matter of fact, there are quite a few very good thread (well merited) that haven't had a reply in weeks and they are located on page 3 or 4...
Anyway, this was just my 2 cents