In reply to 1poundSOCKS:
You can make an informed judgement of course but given at every point on a route (top and intermediate stances) I'll probably go off the rope loop and the fact that I'll tend to tie on before partner leaves the ground why wouldn't I always go off the rope loop so it's never a consideration?
On the sling screw gate or snap gate depends what's handy and what I have lots of, multi pitch or single nothing wrong with a snap gate on a sling in most cases IMHO.