there is no conspiracy here. Best ECN was removed for NASDAQ NMM stocks because SuperSoes fills immediately and there was not point for Best ECN here. Small Cap still goes to Soes and SelectNet where the order can be held up and so you can still do Best ECN here.
musicman: once your order goes green or red, it is confirmed to be at or cancelled by the exchange. It will remain on your screen for a number of seconds afterwards. (I'm not trying to defend stock777 but there are many many clients placing 200+ orders per day.)
The removal of BEST ECN was noted on the web site and I agree could have been conveyed better. At the same time there were three other changes:
1. NYSE stops will not be triggered until the first BBO is posted on the NYSE.
2. New prices for Futures in Europe and Options on Futures in the US (same $2.40 as Futures).
3. NYSE Pro, Amex Pro, and Open Book are now live in Market Data Subscriptions
The NYSE stop change came from customer recommendations.
In the end, removal of the BEST_ECN feature will free up resources and should provide better fills. Give it a shot first and if you see any deteriation in fills, let me or mgmt know. In the end, the firm has been committed to providing the best fills and these changes turn out to be a mistake, i'm sure quick action will be taken.