That DEL key thing...

[pl <pl%szwajn.net@localhost>]

Hi y'all,
Why is DEL deletes characters from the left (making BackSpace redundant), while on X (from base) it behaves as expected (removes from right)? How can I make it behave as in X11?
I know there's some historical background ongoing, but so far I know DEL removed chars from right since ever on IBM PC, so logical for me would be making such behaviour default at least on i386 and amd64 ports.

If that's important: both DEL and BS generate same control key "^?"
-- 
pl <pl%szwajn.net@localhost>