$_ = join '', ; while(s/<(?:\/?\w|!)[^<>]*>/ /sg) {} s/ +/ /g; s/^ | $//mg; print; __DATA__ Once upon a time there was a link and some bold text and a paragraph break

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4 < 5 > 3 #### $_ = join '', ; while (s/<(?:\/?\w|!)[^<>]*>/ /sg) {} s/\s+/ /g; s/^ | $//; print;