Unscheduled Maintenance - 01.11.2012

or it could mean they prewrote the maintenance information, and had it set up so that they'd just have to like, flip a switch to send it out, because if there was anyone actually in the office right now, i'm fairly certain the game would have been taken down immediately as the problem was identified to prevent more users from being affected by it.

unless the person who they have manning the fort right now has absolutely no idea how to work the servers.

Ding-ding-ding-ding.
Hence "any goon working there can put up an announcement."

Taking the servers down before there was actually a method and the appropriate people there to fix it would be silly.
Anyone not facing a cutscene can play the game just fine.