>When developer time is spent getting a 2MHz machine to run well
>when it would be spent better getting current machines and new
>features in, then obscurity takes away from the project.

I must disagree here, mainly because you're considering all developer 
time to be "pooled NetBSD time" when it isn't. If a developer is 
interested in adding support for some obscure ancient system, then 
that's what he's excited about & what he's going to be devoting his 
personal resources to. If NetBSD didn't want him to work on that, 
NetBSD couldn't then say "But why don't you add support to this new 
MoBo that you don't even care about instead." It's not like a company 
where he's being paid to work on what the company decides...he'll 
work on what he's interested in, as will anyone else.

Each port has different people working on it...some may be very 
qualified on that particular port, knowing, for instance, assembly 
for a particular CPU architecture, which won't necessarily translate 
to being adept helping some different port or project.

Just my thoughts,
Mike

BTW, anyone familiar with i386 know which version of NetBSD I should 
try to throw onto a Hyundai Neuron 425SLC laptop (486, 25 MHz, 2MB 
RAM, 116MB HD, floppy). Any chance that much RAM could run an X 
server (16 shade grey screen).
-- 
Bikers don't *DO* taglines.