I should have worded that differently; I'm in favor of a certain level of laid backedness, but it just seems like everyone is afraid of even small inconveniences.You think it's potentially boring because it's laid back, I get bored by games where it's hard to relax.
I don't see how the slight possibility of encountering a cursed item can make you so agitated that you can't relax. The problem seems to be that when an obstacle is suggested, people immediately assume that they will be encountering it at an unusual rate. I can understand wanting to cut down on things like, losing points or dropping equipment as a result of dying.. but cursed items would seem to be a comparably minor obstacle.
I'm not trying to say that it's going to overtly help anyone, but why should that always be a requirement, for a feature to be considered. Considering that already more than a single person seems generally interested in the idea and that to date, the concept has been used in plenty of games.. I don't see why this should be shot down so quickly.
Here is another take on cursed items that will involve partially explaining another, unrelated idea.
I think it'd be cool for there to eventually be some sort of ongoing, automated treasure-hunting quest. Collectors / researchers / etc .. across the world could collect different items, so you might have to talk to a few known collectors before you find a buyer for your item. Cursed items, which are impractical for normal use.. (sort of like the previous example; huge benefits to one score with crippling penalties to another) might be one of the typical items accepted by some eccentric NPC.
I never originally planned to suggest that with cursed items, just thought it would be a way to plug in some backhanded use for them. Of course, this would be just as easily accomplished with fake / decorative items.