[quote=Lady Squee]
Why doesn't someone else just host a different server?... That way you guys can get the best of both worlds?Or is that insanely difficult/cost $$/or something?
[/quote]

It actually isn't all that expensive to rent a server, especially for vanilla. Maybe 10 bucks a month? As for difficult, it's as simple as selecting the version of minecraft/bukkit you want then hitting the start button.
And considering the improvements done to MC's performance, the server could be weak and still handle everyone.