Let us compile a list of D3 annoyances.

[Elric of Grans]

I lost my interest in D2 Hardcore after reading a Pete post. The summation of his post was that Hardcore is a game-enforced ruleset that you can easily do yourself. If your character dies, delete it. No extra game mode required.

Pretty commonly done in Diablo (original), and very popular in many other games. In Diablo III, you can justify Hardcore as a separate mode given so much is shared between characters, it does feel almost like `cheating' if your regular characters inadvertently give your hardcore ones a big leg-up.