Bigger patches are considered as a group, with any member having veto power. Major architectural changes that affect too many modules are generally not accepted. Perl patches are given a rating similar to those used in a wine tasting. This results in a consensus opinion, which helps to develop the community. Sometimes patches are rejected, said Chip, because they are just ugly in a way that can't be easily explained.
Commit access is limited, but there are some special cases.
Chip recommended reading the book Organizing Genius by Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman. Jordan Hubbard said that FreeBSD has experimental tree branches, and that they have added tools to CVS to allow for synchronization and lots of branch selection. The core team has ultimate authority for deciding who is allowed to commit. Larry's final question to the group was how they get and keep good people and if they had ever lost someone they wanted to keep. This does not happen often at FreeBSD, according to Jordan, where they play to enlightened self-interest and ego.