Help with a serial console

[Ognjen Bezanov <ognjen@mailshack.com>]

Ok, I just added a serial console to my headless debian server to
administer it when my network/ssh fails (its happend lots of times, and
i need to drag a ketboard and monitor all the way there to fix the
problem).

I got it all running, but noticed that when I login using the serial
console controls such as ctrl-C, ctrl-X and others do not work. As such
i need some tips on how to get these working (e.g. stopping a 'tail -f
/some/file' uses ctrl-C).

Also i need a text editor that will work with the serial console. I
tried nano,pico and VI but they all appear garbled beyond use on the
console.

Any help appreciated.

P.S Please CC me i am not on the list