2005 January 29, P. Burrows, “Re: Name for Lost fans?”, in rec.arts.sf.tv[1] (Usenet):
(some) Firefly flans call themselves Browncoats (Remember, the hot movie from Universal is out this September! :)
2005 September 11, manosdvd [username], “Re: MSTies - Find Serenity”, in rec.arts.tv.mst3k.misc[2] (Usenet):
You're probably thinking "Brownshirts" which are just an unfortunate comparison. There's still some debate on the name of the fan base, but it's either Browncoats (the independance[sic] fighters from the show's history) or Flans... Tasty treat, bad fan name...
2006 June 18, Geoff Aldrich, “Re: SciFi promotion [Was Firefly fans skew older?]”, in alt.tv.firefly[3] (Usenet):
For what it's worth, I'm 27 and am a huge Firefly/Serenity flan.
2006 October 27, David E. Milligan, “links”, in alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer[4] (Usenet):
[Calling] All Browncoats and Flans : Oklahoma Grand Shindig on November 19, 2006
2007 January 21, Tal, “Re: Nude Jewel Staite? Close enough.”, in alt.tv.firefly[5] (Usenet):
I'm glad this wasn't the first flan group I came across or I would never have realised the great nature of the majority of browncoasts.[sic]