"My web host is terrible and has shutdown my website." – these kind of complains are very common to read in different web hosting forums. Users complaining usually have less than 50 postings on that particular board. When asked about details it always comes down to "cheap Web hosting" combined with some "unlimited" resources" and an unreasonable expectation of the user what he can do/expect for $1.00 per month.
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Here's the web host point of view: User signs up for a "unlimited something account" and starts using those resources. Other websites on the same server suffer and the server is overloaded. Server eventually gets blacklisted and everyone is pissed off. The web host shuts down the abusive website and bans the user.
Here is the user point of view – version 1: I sign up for web hosting and great – these guys offer unlimited disk space and tons of bandwidth. I can finally host my entire MP3 collection for me and my friends + all my digital pictures. Why is the server so slow? I can't download anything and this thing is just darn slow. Oh, wait – now it says my website has been suspended and I shall contact the web host. WTF? I will smack 'em down in a web hosting forum.
Here is the user point of view – version 2: Cool. Another "unlimited" web host. I love those. Plenty of resources I can use for my "questionable" ventures. If they shut me down it does not hurt too much and I make fun of them in different web hosting forums. I just pretend to be a normal user and make them look bad. At the same time I move on to the next stupid web host who offers "unlimited" for a penny a month.
If you are a web host these stories probably sound familiar. But where is the problem? Is it the wrong user expectation or is it the web host offering something at unreasonable prices and therefore attracting the "wrong" kind of customer? I'd say there are 2 reasons. Reason #1 is missing user education about how the web hosting industry works and that there is no such thing as unlimited. Reason #2 is the web host hopping onto the "unlimited" and "low price web hosting" band wagon. The web hosting has this self-created problem of where unreasonably priced web hosting packages dominate the public image. Offering server-like hosting packages for bottom-end prices of shared web hosting packages has created this problem in the first place. It's no longer about how many resources a server can handle and then split into web hosting packages matching these resources. And customers have started to compare web hosting businesses based on price and offered resources.
Web hosting businesses playing the "unlimited" game deserve to be slammed in public by disgruntled customers. Customers deserve to be rated as "idiot expecting X resources without paying a reasonable price". My ratio of distributing fault would be 65% web host and 35% hosting customer. Unless the web hosting industry steps up as "one" to set the perspective right, we will continue seeing crazy hosting packages advertised and customers falling for it (and then complaining about it).
