I don't do Snapely mostly because I wouldn't be comfortable writing a full length fic of Snape/just about any character and figure I should leave it to the experts. *g* I think expectations are high for this fest, as with Beholder, but I guess I never thought that multiple pairing fests we're intended to exclude people with a strong preference. I mean if you REALLY want Snape/Lucius, which fest do you participate in?
I am not at all doubting there are very good reasons for the change, only pointing out what *I* noticed/would have trouble with were I a participant.