With BSD ports you compile the packages. The advantage is that you can select the compilation flags and choose dependencies and options. For instance, want to build emacs without X support? Just run WITHOUT_X11=yes make install clean. With apt you typically have packages like emacs-nox for special cases.
Sounds like Gentoo's system to me. (And, of course, my BSD-loving friends hold Gentoo to be the most bearable Linux.)
Gentoo effectively copied FreeBSD's port system.
s/effectively/ineffectively/
Touché :)
And they both suck. ports and portage are horrible excuses for package management.