So you are a "Lurker", I do the same thing. I have to agree with your analogy on Forums, they are only as good as the membership and especially the administrator. I have been a member of hundreds of forums over the years, and many of them started out with very good intentions and slowly were overtaken by ads and certain members that had an agenda, and pushed that agenda. Obviously ads are needed to offset the cost of running the forum, but they can get to extremes if they begin to interfere with the use of the forum or the message. There is a delicate balance.
I tend to stay away from opinions on web hosting companies. I have had good luck with the hosting providers that I use but I have had customers use those same providers, and they had terrible customer support. I think the impression of a hosting provider has a lot to do with the knowledge of the user. The more knowledgeable and realistic the user on web hosting the more they will ge tout of the provider. Most of us know what to expect, understand the limitations of shared and dedicated hosting, and have realistic expectations as to what to expect for support. Let's be honest most hosting providers are using out sourced support that run off a script. If the answer to your question is not in their database, they will normally not have a clue how to respond.
That scenario has actually added to what I can offer my customers. Understanding how those shared systems work, and how to manipulate the servers and the tools available by the provider, now allows me to offer support for those customer systems. This way the customer does not have to deal with it, I will. Most of the time, based on what is available through the tools of the provider, I can do the support myself. Plus there is a pretty good fee that comes with adding that cost to a project. I call it the gift that keeps on giving.... there lack of good support is my opportunity to provide support using their system. It is a win-win, I can tack on additional fee for support, the customer is happy, and the hosting provider, none the wiser, does not have to deal with a customer that does not understand how the systems work. We all benefit.
Thanks for the comments on not having ads on the site. I appreciate it. My first consideration is always the students that use the site. I try to keep things simple for them and focused on education. Little to no distractions especially when they are watching the videos.