I found thatsetterm -regtabs 4doesn't work in xterm or urxvt.But, thisxterm_set_tabs () {   TERM=linux;  export $TERM;  setterm -regtabs 4}will circumvent the problem.But, I suspect it is suboptimal as (1) I get a gfx bug I can't otherwise explain (at least, if I get the tab stuff right that possibility is ruled out), and (2) when I ssh to my school's Solaris, and run emacs -nw, it says the terminal linux is unknown! So then I have to change it back to xterm. Of course, this is silly as all the while I'm using the same terminal.Also, perhaps not relying on tabs at all is a good rule of thumb!
Set tab width in GUI terminal
terminal;xterm;rxvt