Graham PerrinAttention to meta packages alone is insufficient to prevent removal of the kernel.
In the attached screenshots, there was no force.
A fresh installation of BETA4.
Things such as the kernel are not protected from deletion (without force).
Maybe this will not occur with online packages, when they become available.
From <https://bugs.freebsd.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=290344#c5>:
＂Without force: deleting all packages may cause removal of the one and only kernel …＂
In other words, if I'm not mistaken, flagging FreeBSD-base meta packages as vital does not necessarily have the required effect.