Maybe we should come up with another term to replace "hardcore." I think people are taking the casual/hardcore to the absolute extremes when they're actually not. For instance, I've always considered myself "hardcore" through all 5 years of RP in Vana'diel. I'll consider myself a hardcore RPer in Eorzea as well. Does that mean I RP 24/7? No. I basically just made whatever RP linkshell I was in my main shell, keeping it on at all times outside of dynamis/limbus. None of my characters were ever fully planned out either and sometimes I just added in character elements on the fly when I had to due to IC questions/interactions from others. Despite this, I still classified myself as "hardcore." I think that word may just come off as too derogatory to some for some reason.
