What is Usenet? | What is Pan? | How Do I Find a News Server? | Now that I've got a News Server, How do I use Pan?
Thank you for trying Pan!
Though it's in the same heavyweight class as the Web an e-mail, it's still a relative unknown to the public at large.
Usenet is a world-wide distributed discussion system. It consists of tens of thousands of "newsgroups" with names that are classified hierarchically by subject. In this respect, it's somewhat complimentary to mailing list warehouses like yahoogroups.
Usenet is a place where programs, mp3s, pictures, and other binary data can be shared. In this respect, it's somewhat complimentary to Napster (though less annoying).
Acording to Joe D'Allessandro, director of Marketing for the NewsGuy Usenet feed, Usenet moves over a million messages and postings, weighing in at aboutg 140 GB, per day, and that the volume is increasing. If there's something you'd like to talk about, or if you need to ask a specialist a question, you're likely to find it on Usenet.
The news.newusers.questions page and http://www.newsreaders.com/ have more information for new Usenet users.
Pan is a Usenet client for reading news. It connects to your Usenet feed to allow you to recieve and send articles.
Most larger ISPs and universities provide their own news servers. A good first try would be to attempt connecting to "news.yourisp.com" or "news.youruniversity.edu". If that doesn't work, contact your ISP's help line and ask them.
If you want full access to the alt.binaries hierarchy, you should skip the free servers and sign up for a commercial newsfeed. Fortunately there are many to choose from, and therefore good competition.
Now that I've got a News Server
How do I use Pan?
The Pan Manual will guide you through the fine points of using Pan.