Patch Pumpkin N. [Perl Hackers] A Notional Token Passed Around Among The Members Of A Project.

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patch pumpkin n.

[Perl hackers] A notional token passed
around among the members of a project. Possession of the patch
pumpkin means one has the exclusive authority to make
changes on the project's master source tree. The implicit
assumption is that `pumpkin holder' status is temporary and
rotates periodically among senior project members.

This term comes from the Perl development community, but has been
sighted elsewhere. It derives from a stuffed-toy pumpkin
that was passed around at a development shop years ago as
the access control for a shared backup-tape drive.

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