I previously blogged about using newid() to get random ordering and after chatting with Steve about it, decided to write about it a little more detail for two reasons. One is that sites like SSC thrive by increasing their surface area and it's always good to have an article that covers a topic no matter how simple or seemingly obvious. The other is that I was curious to see if anyone would either challenge the 'randomness' or present a better solution. In this case it was the latter and there are some really great follow up posts that not only discuss alternatives but have code posted that let you test and compare them too! That's the reason I say that if you only read the articles you're missing out on half the educational experience - nothing like reading the comments from a half dozen or more interested and enthusiastic SQL professionals to really give you a look at all sides of any issue.

Anyway, if you haven't read it already, it's posted at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/columnists/awarren/3175.asp