>I have not used the Universal Thread before. If I disconnect and log back on say tommorrow, will I then get everything I missed from the time I logged off till the time I logged back in? or do I just get the current days messages or what?!

Yes, you get all the messages from your last logoff. But there is a limit of 15 days back (I think). In the same time, even if you haven't login for longer than 15 days, you still can get all the messages by day using the calendar icon on the left panel.

Vlad