keymap.sh hangs init without keyboard.

["Joe Blow" <mightybastion@gmail.com>]

I have a headless Debian Etch box with no keyboard and no mouse.  I
only access the machine through ssh or a serial console.  Whenever I
coldboot (or reboot) the machine, init stops somewhere in keymap.sh.
The only way to get it to continue is to plug in a keyboard and press
"Enter".  For the time being, I've removed the console-common package
(which contains /etc/init.d/keymap.sh).  This allows the machine to
boot properly without a keyboard.

1.  What are the longterm consequences of removing console-common?
2.  Can anyone suggest why keymap.sh might hang in the absence of a
keyboard?  Any ideas on how to fix keymap.sh?

Thanks.

--Ethan