I mean, if you want to compete with commercial products then the least you can do is listen to your audience.

You should provide that feedback to the GIMP project: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gimp/-/issues

Gimp was never about competing with a commercial product. It's to build a usable product that the developers like. If others want to use it, great.

Ok, but it's kind of strange if that means I can't even say what I would like to see in that project.

There is nothing stopping you from reporting that feedback to the GIMP team.

Sure, but this was more about being downvoted. Gimp is a great project, and they clearly took a lot of inspiration from a commercial product (Photoshop) that is now offering the exact tools that I was asking about. I don't think my question was out of line, at all.