Hi,
I can't figure how I'd use it or find a compatible computer; running in an emulator doesn't really count.
True. Just like the ns32k, it was nice, but without hardware to run it, it's hardly worth the effort.
For that matter, does anybody still use port-vax?
Actually, yes. That port gets much more use. VAXen are pretty common and they're more than just a curiosity. Mine are used for various things - secondary DNS and backup MX in a non-temperature controlled location, performance profiling of code which will eventually run on embedded hardware, edge case testing of floating point code and so on.
netbsd-6 runs just fine on VAXen, but netbsd-7 and current have toolchain issues at the moment.
In some ways removal of acorn26 isn't too unlike the removal of support for i80386 processors from the i386 port (the name is a bit of a misnomer now, though).
John