That'd be one of the bits ready to give some attitude! ;)

I'm considering going with a normal branch rather than an orphan and then:

 `git ls-files | grep -v public/ | xargs git rm -r`

I believe that'll ensure no files with changes are in danger of removal? And a non-orphan branch provides the added benefit of useful history, as mentioned here: http://rafeca.com/2012/01/17/automate-your-release-flow/