One typical release process is uploading the game to the IF Archive (or itch.io or any file host) and entering it into the IFDB.
In fact, the community has quite a strong focus on historical preservation and archiving, so it might very well happen that someone else enters it into the IFDB, if you don’t do so.
If you want to make relatively sure that it’s not directly “in your record”, so to speak, you could release it under a pseudonym, that’s totally fine.
Having said that, there’s also no shame in publishing a tech demo or a polished one-puzzle learning game. You might want to make sure to mention the intended scope of the game in the ABOUT text. (Although, in the end, once it’s on the IFDB, people might review it according to their own standards, and it’s not guaranteed that they’ll take into account that it’s just intended to be a small learning exercise.)
Side note: it sounds as if you’re not too keen on that, but you could also think about extending the game a bit and entering it into the upcoming TADS Jam: Winter TADS (and Zilf) Jam starts December 1, 2022
I’m not aware of a checklist doc. Here are some thoughts and resources:
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the conventional place for meta-information like credits is a text in response to the ABOUT command, so make sure to implement that
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make sure to credit your beta-testers
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enter correct bibliographic data Bibliographic Metadata: The GameInfo Format
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chapter 26 of the Inform manual has some system-agnostic advice on publishing: 26.1. Finding a readership
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here’s a thread which also has mostly system-agnostic advice: Checklist for authors of IF and Inform 7 IF in particular
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have a good cover image, which should also be legible when it’s displayed as a thumbnail
I’d say ideally Gargoyle, Lectrote, QTADS, and the official Windows TADS interpreter, if you’ve got the opportunity.
Dunno, but I know the feeling. 