But the most important parts of ActiveState are free - ActivePerl, ActivePython, and ActiveTcl. Anything beyond that is fair game.

You say you want these tools to be free and freely available to the community because they're tools. Just because you got the wood and nails for free, doesn't mean you should walk into Home Depot and demand the hammer, saw, etc. be free too.

ActiveState isn't going to give those tools away any more than Home Depot is going to give you a three hundred dollar buzz saw for nothing. And as much as I dislike Microsoft, I support their right to charge for these products. Funny thing - you need the tools from Home Depot to make something from that wood, but you don't necessarily need the tools from ActiveState to build a perl program.

Simply put, if you dislike the thought of paying for such tools then quitcherbitchin and just build your own. Then you could make those freely available - and give ActiveState a run for their money.