CoP was probably the time span I enjoyed the game the most. I started a month or so before CoP came out, so I am probably just talking out of nostalgia. I also had the most free time back then, so even though to everyone else it was "grind grind grind" to me it was just a fun way to make the day go faster.
I can't say if I prefer (in concept) the old way or the new way better. Now that I am a very busy person, I would probably side with the "now". I wouldn't get much done with the old method.
If a server was opened that was CoP only, I probably wouldn't touch it.