I think that posting in a forum has benefits, especially when you take into consideration that, as you said, Tim and the team have a great presence in this one.
This gives the opportunity to get both feedback from other users/customers, as well as (in this case) from the supplier of the service.
In many cases, forums are used because the supplier does not have a support system thats worth a damn, and people are forced to use forums to get help from the user community.
I also think your statement is true, that many do not even know of forums as a means to get an answer.
I am glad to have this forum because I think it helps me in several ways and allows me to help others when I can. It is great to have the interraction with Tim and team as a bonus.