-If you package SBCL for a distribution, please edit version.lisp-expr,
-and append ".packaging-target-or-patch[.version]".
+If you package SBCL for distribution, we ask that you to take steps to
+make the version number reflect this. Our users often report bugs that
+are intimately tied up with configuration issues, and much confusion
+can result from mistaking a packaged SBCL for the upstream one.
+
+If you are working from a Git branch, all you need to do is make sure
+the branch name reflects the situation -- the build system will
+incorporate the it in the version string.
+
+If you are working from a release tarball, please edit
+version.lisp-expr, and append ".packaging-target-or-patch[.version]".