Don,
In case I wasn't clear, I'm guessing I have ~4 weeks to go *on the openacs kernel data model*. So you're definitely correct, that's a far cry from completing an OpenACS port. I would expect to need some help on the database driver, the request processor, etc. and that once that was taken care of, other modules could be ported on an as-needed (or as-funded) basis.
I don't think it's a great goal to get MSSQL server supported on the same level as Postgres/Oracle, and it wasn't mine. I agree that it would be a distraction, and frankly I'd rather see the base platform get better as well.
Having said that, I think that having _something_ that shops with strong MS dependencies (particular on the DB level) could consider is worthwhile. There are many good ideas in OpenACS that could be used independent of the entire platform, and I think that the data model encapsulates many of them. There is a big difference between full support for MSSQL Server and what one might think of as "bullet-point" or tentative support. In that gap I think there's room for a project that would be useful in spreading the word, and gaining the full supported platforms more converts.
