re = /(?:^\.+|(\.)\.+)/m
str = '543.210.987.654.321
43.210.987.654.321
987.654...321
87.654...321
7.654...321
654....321
54....321
4....321
....321
21
1
'
subst = '$1'
result = str.gsub(re, subst)
# Print the result of the substitution
puts result
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for Ruby, please visit: http://ruby-doc.org/core-2.2.0/Regexp.html