I was part of the Ninjatrader Dorman Zen-Fire disaster fiasco whereby no communications regarding the problem were sent to customers and we had to find out thru a rude awakening upon logging in. Typically, one would expect emails from either Ninjatrader or the execution broker (Dorman in my case) of such downtime. The fact that this didn't occur should be an awakening to anyone who has money at at risk with either their brokerage (who didn't send out notifications of the ongoing issue) or who are using Ninatrader (who also did not send out email notifications warning users to seek options).
Anyone with money at risk with brokerages who were silent on this disaster as it unfolded in December would be wise to seek alternatives. Lack of communication in this day and age (a simple email folks) has no place in trading and courts a career ending disaster.