Good initiative! I suggest starting with asking for info on edition and source, since that's missing for quite a lot of books. Also, "do not make changes to the original text" sounds too strict -- I think correcting typos, for instance, is fairly standard. I suggest something like this:
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When uploading a text, please make a note of the sources you have used (e.g. Project Gutenberg, another MobileRead upload, a scanned paper book). If possible, also make a note of which edition of the text the upload is based on. If you have made any changes (e.g. correcting typos, modernizing spelling, adding illustrations from other editions), please describe them.
More substantial changes to the text (e.g. changing words to improve readability for modern readers) is controversial here at MobileRead. If you make such changes, please make a note describing the specific changes, and/or add footnotes to the text where the change is made.
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Would it be OK to ask for this info both in the post and in a preface to the book itself? Personally, I prefer it both places -- I may read a book years after I've downloaded it, when I have no chance of remembering notes in a post. But others may feel that adding a preface with editing notes is in itself an unacceptable change to the original.
I looked around a bit for examples of editing notes, here are some I think are good:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=232461
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The source text was Project Gutenberg 1917-h.htm. I have corrected typos, curled quotes, and modernised punctuation, spelling, and hyphenation using oxforddictionaries.com.
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https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34431
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It was first published in 1890 and then revised and new chapters added in 1891, it is this second revision what I am uploading. ...
I created this version from the PG text, which has very few mistakes (there was at least a missing line, though). I added curly quotes, italics, diacritics, etc.
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https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=242316
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Text is based on Gutenberg.org transcription of the 1893 first edition; proofed and corrected against the 1923 Definitive Edition, resulting in some spelling and punctuation revision, and restoration of some missing text fragments. I formatted punctuation, diacritics, and italics; added scene breaks; and cross-linked chapter-end-notes to source paragraphs; chapter heads to html table of contents. Embedded fonts for drop-caps, small-caps, and fleurons.
Included are all 316 illustrations from the first edition, including the “suppressed” depiction of Twain in flames (chapter 43), which was removed upon the objection of his wife -- subsequent printings of the first edition omit this image. Also includes the 5 illustrations from the 1899 “Uniform Edition.”
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