> The people who feel gaslit over a USB-C cable not working would probably also feel gaslit over buying the "wrong USB C cable",
They might feel deceived or mislead by the packaging, but they won't have to wonder if they are somehow using their computer wrong. Particularly for people who lack confidence with computers, this means a lot.
While I can understand the desire to make it easier for non-savvy computer users, I don't think it's worth destroying the technical gains USB-C brings with it. Again, we've had non-savvy users hook stuff up wrong or destroy things even when ports had differentiated shapes. A software solution to identify the incompatibility and notify the user seems more practical than redesigning the connector for every evolution of USB-C.
They might feel deceived or mislead by the packaging, but they won't have to wonder if they are somehow using their computer wrong. Particularly for people who lack confidence with computers, this means a lot.