I think this is a poor argument. If it's the one singular thing that's frustrating this many users, that's a reason to focus on particular on fixing it somehow. You also need to take into account that most users encountering this problem are not deliberate vim learners: they ended up in vim by accident.
That said, as others have pointed out, the vim developers can't really be blamed here as it's just a very hard problem. There isn't a common convention, and vim already goes above and beyond to try and educate users on how to get out. People ending up on this SO question just seem unwilling to read.
That said, as others have pointed out, the vim developers can't really be blamed here as it's just a very hard problem. There isn't a common convention, and vim already goes above and beyond to try and educate users on how to get out. People ending up on this SO question just seem unwilling to read.