Re: interpreting ^Hs in text files

[Dan Kalikow <DrDan@Kalikow.com>]

In <slrnb2djh3.9kl.mac@mac.dgp.toronto.edu> Maciej Kalisiak wrote:
> Text files occasionally use double-striking using ^H to create effects 
> such as bold and underlined lettering.  How do I make Emacs parse and 
> interpret the text file according to this convention?

FWIW Maciej, I believe that such uses of ^H mostly occur these days as 
jokes.  In the old days indeed ^H would execute a physical backspace of 
"the print-head" thus permitting it to over-strike a previously-typed 
letter.  A common use of this was to underscore such a previously-
printed letter.  E.g., to print and underscore the word "the" the 
sequence of characters transmitted would be 
the^H^H^H___ 
where ^H was ctrl-H.  It could also be used to strike through or 
obliterate a previously-typed letter.  It survived in that mode for 
awhile as "glass TTYs" supplanted paper terminals, but gradually fell 
into disuse in that mode.  Nowadays, I normally see such ^H stuff used 
as a "figure of net-speech" like this -- 
=====
Microsoft Windows is the most excellent^H^H^H^H^H^Hinsidious operating 
system known to exist today.
=====
HTH^H^H^HI don't care if this helps or not to tell you the truth :-)

/Dan