After talking with "DreamHost":http://www.dreamhost.com/rewards.cgi?revjim a bit more it looks like my only option, with them, is to go for a "Dedicated Server":http://www.dreamhost.com/dedicated/servers.html. $99/mo (when paid a year in advance) for a decent server (more than I've had in any dedicated server before now) is a decent price. I was paying $99 for the Co-Op server and it wasn't this beefy.
The other really nice thing about "DreamHost":http://www.dreamhost.com/rewards.cgi?revjim's Dedicated Server offering is that it's Managed!. It comes with the DreamPanel (the same one you see for shared hosting accounts) and they support the machine fully if any of the software on it should break or if special configuration is needed. My biggest gripe with a dedicated server isn't the price, it's the time I have to spend maintaining the thing. I'm fully capable of administrating a server but, I just don't have the time nor desire to do it any more.
"Ryan King":http://theryanking.com/ suggested "TextDrive":http://textdrive.com/ as an alternative to "DreamHost":http://www.dreamhost.com/rewards.cgi?revjim. The problem with TextDrive is their pricing compared to their offering. They offer a limited number of domain names which makes it very expensive for people like me who host 100 tiny little sites that get hardly any traffic or use any resources. If they had an unlimited domain option, offered a bit more bandwidth and space, and clearly stated their internal CPU limits, it might be worthwhile.
Another individual in the #rubyonrails IRC channel suggested "Site5″:http://site5.com/. They were actually the first other company I contacted. I spoke to sales representitive trying to get information regarding CPU second limits. At least "DreamHost":http://www.dreamhost.com/rewards.cgi?revjim is being upfront (now) telling me that I cannot use more then 2400 CPU seconds and giving me an easy way to check that statistic. Site5 simply told me that they do monitor the server and that they do contact customers if the CPU is being overused but that he didn't feel my usage pattern would be a problem. Basically, what he said was, "We've got a 60 day money back guarantee… try it!". But that's just it: it isn't about the money! It's about the time and effort I have to waste moving from place to place to place until I figure out who is lying and who isn't.
So, before I jump back on the dedicated server bandwagon with "DreamHost":http://www.dreamhost.com/rewards.cgi?revjim, let me ask you all for a hosting recommendation (shared, virtual, or dedicated) that meets the following criteria.
* > 100GB of traffic each month
* > 10GB of storage space
* > 20,000 CPU seconds of usage
* If you don't know the CPU seconds this is roughly 30,000 hits a day served from a "Typo":http://typo.leetsoft.com/ installation plus another 15,000 or so from PHP.
* Unlimited (or, like, 200) Domains (and subdomains too)
* IMAP
* FastCGI
* Ruby
* Apache/Lighttpd
* PHP5
* Shell Access
* Unlimited (or, like, 15) FTP users
* A Control Panel to do all the admin work
* Automatic Upgrades
* Support if the software breaks or needs reconfiguring
Please don't make a suggestion if you don't know for certain that the above options are supported. When you make your suggestion, if the place you are recommending has an affiliate program, please be sure to include your information so I can properly credit you. If you're a current "DreamHost":http://www.dreamhost.com/rewards.cgi?revjim Dedicated customer, I'd like to hear from you, too.
