Right now, the license of Inform 7 (the compiler) is quasi-free; it doesn't allow modification (although Graham has stated that he's ok with patches) or commercial distribution. I just yesterday wrote to Graham Nelson to ask him to make Inform Free Software. I haven't heard back yet. You work with Zarf, who I guess knows Graham from the IF scene. Does Zarf know why Graham doesn't use a free license? Do you think it's likely that he could be convinced?