Rick Moen writes:
As to vfat for /boot, sure that's simple and universal, but you pay the price that it's very much not robust.
Definitely agree. I wouldn't use any FAT on a normal Linux system. But it probably does make sense for Raspbian, since many Raspbian users have no other Linux system available, and have to use a Mac or Windows box to burn their SD cards. I'm seeing a surprising number of people on RPi IRC channels who bought their Pi as a cheap and easy way to teach themselves Linux, with no previous Linux exposure.
...Akkana