I think you just had a bad night! I have had a similar occurence, but I recall it was during a weekend /overnight when the website was undergoing some type of overhaul.

Complete B6 web meltdown like you had is very rare. (Unlike my experience on the US website, where every transaction is a disaster waiting to happen.)

Flight notification seems very, very new. I didn't notice it when I flew B6 last month. I guess I will try it out on my next flight in a few weeks...