The truth is, yes. You can play again. If you want my honest opinion, I would follow Project 1999 as they're the closest you're going to get to the original experience you had with EQ back in the day. Go to
www.project1999.org and read their forums on how to get setup. I'm sure with some elbow grease, you guys can figure things out from here.
You'll have to petition on the p1999 forums with your ip address (see
www.whatismyip.com) to play that specific server with the same IP. Most other servers however allow multiple connections from the same IP right off the bat. So welcome to EqEmu and enjoy your stay. We welcome new faces!