I think it's a good idea.

I'm also developing free Vue tutorials, models and photo textures at my e-book ecommerce site. Ecommerce sites and free stuff are not at all mutually exclusive, since one of the ways to sell digital products is to attract visitors with free stuff. Some of my tutes are very basic, others touch on realism, like my first Vue tutorial on camera lens focal lengths and their surprising effects on your images.

Also, i like having more than 1 good Vue forum (not that you are planning such). About 3 seems best to me. That way, you get different perspectives and different approaches to what a forum should be.

_jc
Art Head Start.com
Art training e-book for digital artists and students. Free chapter on lighting.