(Proceeds from the above ads go to rebelbase.com for hosting Pan.
Proceeds from the tip jar go to Pan's programmers.)

What is Pan?

GNKSA Approved!

Pan is a newsreader which attempts to be pleasing to both new users and power users. In addition to the standard newsreader features, Pan also supports yEnc, offline newsreading, article filtering, multiple connections, and more features.

It's also the only Unix newsreader to get a perfect score on the Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval evaluations.

You might also want to look at the screenshots page, which has a mini-tour of Pan.

Why Use Pan?

It's Good for Reading News.

  • Pan is the only Unix newsreader to score 100% on the Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval evaluation.
  • Basic newsreader features, such as reading and writing news, threading articles, and replying via email, are supported.
  • Articles can be sorted by author, date, subject, or the number of unread children in the thread.
  • Multiple connections are supported, so articles can be read while binaries are downloading.
  • Selected articles, threads, and entire groups can be queued for offline reading.
  • Articles can be filtered by regular expression matching, read/unread state, binary/text, etc.
  • Pan is fast and can download and thread articles as quickly as the bandwidth will let it.
  • Posts can be queued until you want to go online, and can be re-edited at any point before they're sent.
  • Pan saves your posted messages in a folder for future reference.
  • A flexible rules system allows you to delete, hide, download, or notify you of, etc. articles that match a subject, or are posted by a particular user, and so on.
  • Groups can be filtered by regular expression matching subscribed/new/all, etc.
  • Article headers are cached locally for fast group loading.
  • Pan has keyboard bindings for mouse-free newsreading.

It's Good at Binaries.

  • Pan supports the decoding of uu, base64, and yEnc-encoded binaries.
  • Attached images can be shown inline.
  • Pan can download and thread articles as quickly as bandwidth allows.
  • uuencode, MIME, and yEnc attachments are all supported.
  • A task manager lets you reorder, cancel, and resubmit download tasks.
  • Multiple connections are supported, so many binaries can be downloaded simultaneously.
  • Multipart articles are automatically grouped together.
  • Non-binary, incomplete multipart, and previously-saved messages can be filtered out of the article list.
  • Files can be attached to a Usenet article and are automatically encrypted with yEnc, threaded and referenced by Pan.
  • Articles can be encrypted or signed with a public or private PGP key for enhanced privacy and security.
  • Connections can be encrypted with the TLS protocol.

It's Configurable.

  • Pan can support multiple servers, even concurrent connections to multiple servers.
  • Users can specify per-server maximum connections, session maximum connections, and which servers are allowed to go online.
  • Pan supports NNTP authorization, for Usenet accounts that require passwords.
  • The main window's panes can be rearranged to suit your tastes.
  • Pan is written and distributed under the GPL license.

The following features are available in Pan Enterprise Solutions Pack 3K, which can be purchased from our parent company, ChimPanXi:

  • Spam wizard.
  • Integrated search for alt.binaries groups on unsecured news servers.
  • Cancelbot wizard.
  • NNTP account spoofing.
  • Unlimited number of server connections.
  • Oil slick, smokescreen, ejector seat, and heat-seeking diddle darts.
  • Gnapster plugin framework.
  • KDE bindings.