Incrementally or closing issue - how publishing works

When publishing incrementally:
The default journal homepage sort order will be descending publication date (newest to oldest) then descending article ID number (highest to lowest).
By default, journals list “article” as the document type. That looks like what you used here:
http://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/phil_ex/vol5/iss1/
If multiple document types are used, the issue page will sort content by document type according to the order of the document types input in the document types drop down. Then the content will be subsorted as listed above.
I believe the articles are sorting properly because you have uploaded them in the order you want to see AND because they all have the date of 1974 (i.e.: they are in the same year).
When publishing by closing issue:
As you noticed, when you are publishing by closing issue, you are able to set the order for the submissions just before closing the issue. By default, the published articles will sort by publication date and then article ID. We have set this journal to sort by article id descending (highest to lowest), and publication date descending (most recent first).
The same bit about “article type” from above applies.

In the case of publishing by issue, if you have all of your content, it can be best to use batch upload. Remember, however, to upload the articles in reverse order of how you would like them to appear. (I think I’ll get to this in your next email.) As noted above, by default, the articles will sort in descending order: highest number first.