debootstrap and cdebootstrap vs systemd

Hi,

I've run into a bit of a problem building a root filesystem for an ARM
system where the kernel shipped by the vendor is 2.6 based. As systemd
does not work there, I tried installing a sysvinit based system using
--include and --exclude to (c)debootstrap.

In short: this does not work. The end result is a systemd based system.
If I use the --foreign flag, sysvinit is added to the download, and an
attempt at installation is made when the system is booted, but this
fails due to an unresolved conflict.

The system image left is unable to boot, due to a segmentation fault in
systemd (which is is probably not that important, as older kernels are
unsupported anyway), and is stuck with a kernel panic.

I haven't found a combination of flags that would create a root
filesystem without systemd, as the dependency resolver in these tools
will always pull it back in.

Being able to create a root file system using debootstrap is IMO a
rather central feature of the Debian distribution, and I'd prefer not to
give it up.

I don't have a lot of time in the coming months, but I could probably
clear a weekend. Would it make sense to organize a meeting (Linuxhotel?)
to fix this?

   Simon

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