<?php
$dbhost = 'localhost';
$dbuser = 'root';
$dbpass = '';
$selection = "ORDER BY  id ASC";
$conn = mysql_connect($dbhost, $dbuser, $dbpass);
if(! $conn )
{
  die('Could not connect: ' . mysql_error());
}

$selection=isset($_GET['sort']) ? $_GET['sort'] : "";
if($selection == "1"){$selection="ORDER BY id DESC";}       // if selection equals to 1 then sort by newest
else if($selection == "2"){$selection="ORDER BY id ASC";}   // else if selection equals to 2 then sort by oldest


    $sql="SELECT id, threadName, message FROM threads ";        // don't forget space the end of sql
    $sql.=$selection;

    mysql_select_db('threads');
    $retval = mysql_query( $sql, $conn );
    if(! $retval )
    {
      die('Could not get data: ' . mysql_error());
    }
    while($row = mysql_fetch_array($retval, MYSQL_ASSOC))
    {
      $id = $row['id'];
      $threadName = $row['threadName'];
      $message = $row['message'];
      echo "<div class='boxed'><center>".$threadName."<br>".$message."</center></div>";
    }
    ?>