Making GIMP feel less like punishment

GIMP has always had an interface problem. I’m not blaming the GIMP team (they’ve built something powerful on a shoestring). They’ve been clear they’re not interested in copying Photoshop wholesale; their FAQ argues that designing around actual user research beats imitating someone else’s interface decisions. Fair enough in principle, but coming from years as a Photoshop user, that design still feels hostile to me. I’m just one user story out of many they’ve had to design for, but it still expects me to learn its own way of doing things rather than offering a config closer to what I’m used to out of the box.