I've made a thread at blizzard diablo discussion forums, if the idea makes sense to you then go reply at blizzard and try to get the suggestion heard.
My issue is that at the end of the season, seasonal characters become non-seasonal and unlike softcore, no one plays non-seasonal hardcore so characters become unused/deleted.
A lot of you like to and have the time to grind and race a new character up the leader boards ( there was a time I had #1 hardcore assassin USWEST) but I don't have that kind of time available to me any more as an old fart.
So my suggestion to blizzard is a character that starts as hardcore seasonal, then at the end of season it becomes an "Ancient" and at the end of each passing season it gains a "generation" that gets awarded a unique buff unique to Ancients. There would be unparalleled prestige in having a 10th generation Ancient, kept alive since day 1.
Obviously seasonal hardcore and Ancients can't play together and there could be a minimum requirement of a certain amount of experience gained each season to be granted another generation.
For me, I only play hardcore and would like the opportunity to keep advancing a character instead of it being confined to playing solo for eternity after seasons end. If the idea sounds good then get over to blizzard and put your support behind it as the devs won't even see the topic unless it gets some serious backing.