You also have to understand what the end user wants. They want to be
able to change the root file system, as their applications see it,
just like the Linux pivot root system call. The init hack does
exactly this, from the world view of these users' application. Sure,
it uses a different mechanism to accomplish the same thing, but the
end results are the same. "The Linux 'pivot root' concept is
accomplished in NetBSD by init doing a chroot at the right time so the
effect is nearly identical, and often times exactly what the doctor
ordered."