I notice old topics coming up on HOME, things that were not posted recently yet get in the mix. I suppose this is some kind of shuffling?

I think its confusing and wastes peoples time reading old stuff thinking there are new posts on the topics.

I never noticed it before. Why do we have it now?

I think they are mostly polls that people have recently voted on but not posted an actual written reply to.

Assuming you are referring to the 'Last 10 Posts' box on the homepage, Cyan is right. When someone votes in a poll but does not actually post, the poll gets still bumped up.

If we're interpreting your question properly, Artemise, let us know.

That was it, thanks for clarifying.