Sure. But: - How do I make sure any other systems I own also get the patched version? (Gentoo: set up an overlay and commit the fixed package) - How do I get

Sure. But: - How do I make sure any other systems I own also get the patched version? (Gentoo: set up an overlay and commit the fixed package) - How do I get notified when the package was updated upstream and my patch is no longer being applied? (Gentoo: emerge tells you when a new package is being installed from a different repository than the currently installed package) You're probably going to say I should use a PPA, but not everyone is comfortable with signing up for a proprietary service and accepting their TOS. And setting up a PPA is way more complicated than maintaining a portage overlay in some VCS. And of course I have to submit a new package whenever a new version of Ubuntu comes out.