The ignores_type is a new feature that allows one to create SCM-specific ignore files. These are the mappings:

ignores_type => 'generic'  # default, creates 'ignore.txt'
ignores_type => 'cvs'      # creates .cvsignore
ignores_type => 'git'      # creates .gitignore
ignores_type => 'hg'       # creates .hgignore
ignores_type => 'manifest' # creates MANIFEST.SKIP