general Battuta: That's why I said that I don't necessarily play them in that order (just like you don't have to edit a movie or book in chronological order).
It's absolutely more fun and varied to cherrypick your way through the mods. I just ordered them because I wanted to get a better view of the way the stories are interwoven.
Lorric: I've played some campaigns in order, the fun part is that you have more of an idea of what's happening around you at the same time, which promotes immersion if the plot isn't too bad. It's also interesting to jump to a campaign about an event as it happens in another campaign (like a side character or flash back episode). A lot of campaigns set in the Freespace universe have very few if any relations to others though, the date is only important for the ships/weapons you can use. Otherwise I agree with General Battuta, don't force yourself to play them in order or you might get bored with the game.