I'm using shared free hosting for my forum @
http://ircher.x10.bz/mybb/index.php
PM for the username & password to view debug info.
Note that I'm the only one on the foru right now and server load is over 5....
its common on "free" hosting... I would say its very low.. I have a test board installed on a free host which has a load of 16.38...
So, what load cutoff would you recommend in that case.
There is not much that you can do.
Unless you plan to upgrade it to paid. I had tons of problems with paid web-hosting. I hope your problems get resolved!
If you want you could contact your host and see if it's possible to move your account to a less loaded server(which most likely wont happen)
urrghh I have panic alarms set at 3 for my serverload (3 cores) but like to keep it below 1. If I start creeping over one I start to keep an eye on it. If it goes over 3 I start investigating, and higher and I go into meltdown and start heavily investigating cause.
It is almost always a poor performing database issue.
However I have a VDS so i am isolated from other users and sites. In your case, if it is functioning for now I wouldn't worry, you have little control over the load and cause of it, you may want to ping your host for support. As your site grows you may want to think about other options.
I went Paid hosting >> Bigger better Paid hosting >> bigger better again >> VPS and have gradually upgraded that