IS this a bug or feature ??

If I re-patch a 100TX de0 connection NetBSD 1.2 corectly reports that
the link is down and suggests a connection problem. However after the
link is re-patched the de0 device until I ifconfig de0 up the device.

This may be a feature and not a bug but if it is a feature
why does ifconfig -a report that the de0 is UP and not DOWN even
before I have issued the ifconfig de0 up ?

--Sean