maximum entropy wrote:

>On my -current i386 system with -current xsrc, I can no longer produce
>a configuration where the backspace key behaves te way I want.  My
>requirements are:
>
>- The backspace key must send a delete character (^?).  I use emacs as
>  my editor, so ^H is not an option.
>
>- The stty mode for my X terminals must reflect that setting.
>
>- The backspace key must continue to send ^? when I run screen within
>  an xterm.

You probably already know this and have tried, but just in case ...

Run "xev" and hit the key you want to act as a "backspace".  Not the 
keysym value reported.  Then Control/C out and try:

    xmodmap -e "keycode <nn> = BackSpace"

Where <nn> is the value you saw when you run xev.

If this works then create a file called ".xmodmap" in your home directory 
that contains:

    keycode <nn> = BackSpace

If will be invoked when you start X and your designated BackSpace key 
should work as you expect.  To get this working in non-X environemnts you 
need to use the "stty erase " command. There's some documentation on the 
xmodmap man page that shows how to keep the two in sync.

hope this helps,
-bob