> stty erase should be ^? because [...], and because the ^H convention
> breaks emacs.  doesn't just inconvenience emacs---makes it _unuseable
> with no workaround_.

...huh?  I don't know what version of emacs you're talking about, but
I've never yet met a version that couldn't be taught to rebind ^H to
whatever you're expecting it to do.

> [...] you should get at least _consistency_: the fat key above return
> generates an 'stty erase'.  but with some of sun's silly keyboard
> layouts that might not be as easy as it sounds.

That assumes there *is* a "fat key above return".  On a very informal
poll I just took of the keyboards within sight, it's a decent guess,
and, amusingly, the one keyboard that clearly falsifies it is a peecee
keyboard, not a Sun keyboard.

- Sun type-3: Sort of.  "Return" is a 2½-width key in the middle letter
   row, and the key above the right-hand about-two-thirds of it is
   "Delete".  But "Delete" is in the top letter row, not the digit row
   or higher.  There is a "Back Space" key, but it is in the row above
   the digits and is only one key wide.  (The key between "Back Space"
   and "Delete" is the `-and-~ key.)

- Peecee keyboard 1: Yes.  "Return" is a double-row key, occupying
   approximately 2½ keys of space on the middle letter row and 1½ keys
   of space on the top letter row.  The key above it is "Backspace".

- Peecee keyboard 2: Sort of.  "Enter" is abotu 2½ keys wide on the
   middle letter row.  Above it is \-and-|, about 1½ keys wide.  Above
   that is "Backspace", about two keys wide.  Each is single-row.

- HP 46021A: Sort of.  Very much like peecee keyboard 2, except that
   the keys aren't quite as wide, and their right ends are depressed so
   the effective typing surface is narrower yet - \-and-| is only about
   one key wide at the effective height.

- Old Mac "Apple Extended Keyboard II": Sort of.  Very much like peecee
   keyboard 2.

- DEC LK401-AA: Yes.  "Return" is dual-row, about one key wide on the
   middle letter row and 4/3 keys wide on the top letter row.  Above
   it, on the digit row, is a key with a logo I cannot easily render
   here, an X inside a pentagon rather like a square with a 1-1-sqrt(2)
   right triangle erected with its hypotenuse being the left edge of
   the square.  <X] gives a moderately fair idea in the font I'm using.

- Peecee keyboard 3: Sort of.  Like peecee keyboard 2.

- Peecee keyboard 4: No.  "Return" is dual-row, about 7/3 keys wide on
   the middle letter row and about 3/2 keys wide on the row above that.
   Above that there is nothing other than one key wide.  There is a
   back-arrow key in approximately the conventional backspace position,
   but it is only one key wide.

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