:/ That is kinda hard... It probably helps to remember that communities start small, and there will always be a bit of 'us knows us' that makes humour easier than when the community has started growing. You can see it in some of the answers/comments from the earliest posts on MSE too, there was a lot of joking around. Most comments would be deleted were they posted today, and probably some answers too...
People will miss what they were used to, so they'll try to get it back. Is there any sign the mods might cave into it?