IO limits are tracked based on your interactions with the server storage. So actions which read or write a lot of data to or from the storage generate IO usage. Those activities include importing data, creating backups, running exports and installing and removing scripts and plugins.
It does not include:
- Anything that does not involve your website itself, like email on your domain.
- FTP traffic.
- Database traffic.
- Installations with Softaculous.
Yes, if you hit the daily limit too many times (generally 20 times) your account won’t be reactivated again.
It would be even more unfair if we gave different people different amounts of server power based on their knowledge of websites alone.
I understand it’s frustrating if you don’t understand the limits. But that doesn’t make them unfair.