I do see OP's issue, and I do think the the ports are too close together. OK, title a bit alarmist, and it's a design issue and not a usb-c issue. That being said, there is a brighter world once you start utilizing usb-c in all it's glory - single cable plugging for all peripherals. Workflows are all different and people are not there yet, but just giving some insight on why I don't personally have a problem with plugging/unplugging, because I'm only plugging in one cable at a time 99% of the time. Hooking up a monitor, external drive, mouse, keyboard, ethernet, and power all on one cable is what makes this usb-c thing worth it! It's also nice having the touchbar version for the 2 sides of ports, but I know it doesn't help ntb folks.