Yes. This.
@anon41087856 has given us, the more technically-minded community members, the means by which we can better assist the less technically-minded in starting to use the tool or transitioning to the new methods. Now we need to take up that challenge in providing user support so others can get back to improving the software.
Comparing darktable learning vs. learning how to drive, there is still a large difference that comes to my mind : in darktable, you can test everything with no risk of killing somebody. And I think people don’t take advantage of that opportunity enough. Just test, try, exercise and see.
7 years ago, I learned darktable watching Lightroom tutorials, because that’s all we got back then. That is possible, although not mandatory nowadays since ressources about darktable are ubiquitous. The point is, doing your tests will make you understand the theory, even though you are not teached with the same tool. Image processing is still image processing, no matter the software.
Bruce’s videos videos are a great resource, but watching 16 30-minute videos as a “getting started” is a big ask! And not really necessary: DT has its quirks, but once you get just a few things, it’s really not that complex.
I learned DT roughly a year ago (a bit before the 2.6 release) and I really enjoyed at the time Riley Brandt’s first 3 videos as an introduction. They are 5-8 minutes, so not too bad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwoHkXqHTCc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyKg_tYXfyo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGab-0irviY
After that, I really enjoyed and learned a lot watching Aurelien’s latest videos and his french blog post on filmic, the linear workflow and recommended “modern” modules. Once again however, “you need to watch 2h of video and read this really long technical post” is a big ask for a beginner who wants to pick up DT to make a few quick edits. I think it’s probably possible to distill the essential info to a single blog post, or perhaps article on pixls.us, or manual page.
Many people must first learn that, when they try darktable alone, it does not kill anyone (or their time or that they won’t break anything). 
I quite agree here.
I also learned GIMP that way. I have watched countless Photoshop tutorials and tried out with GIMP. Meanwhile I realize that the people around me, who use Photoshop professionally, have incredible gaps in their knowledge about the basics of image editing.
Except they’re not 30 min, the first 16 are about 10 min on average for each main component of getting started with the program, including topics like migrating from LR, working with collections etc. A 10 minute video on each aspect seems like a reasonable time investment to me.
That’s where the fallacy lies. For just a few edits, maybe darktable is not what you are looking for. Just like Blender is probably not the easiest solution to draw a simple logo. If you don’t have the motivation to learn something new, don’t try it and use your iPhone. Otherwise, commit and bite the bullet.
Thanks for the advice. I’m a hobbyist photographer, been using lightroom for many years. Recently I tried out Darktable. So far I’ve managed to muddle through using base curve, tone curve, color zones, color correction etc and got acceptable results. (My lightroom skills are also just basic).
Now I’m reading up on this linear-rbg workflow and practicing using the Filmic RGB module. Haven’t yet managed to wrap my head around it. Will need a lot more practice for sure 
Another resource to understand one of the core principles of photo editing from the analog side: dodging and burning :
That makes the connection between dodging/burning and exposure compensation quite obvious.
I really miss dodge and burn tool in darktable. I know that you can imitate it with parametric and drawn masks, but it’s not the same as a brush, which you can drag discreetly, several times over some places to work on certain details. It is a very meditative activity and you feel a little bit like a painter. 
I loved it, thanks! I often hear about that process but never had the chance to see it. Now there it is.
I’m looking forward to a computer interface where I can make shadow shapes with my hands to dodge and burn like I use to under the enlarger. It’s a very intuitive way of working, once you get used to it.
Ah, I can dream…
Me too, hence Wiring darktable with Krita [nsfw]
Kinect controllers have been used for that kind of motion-controlled UI in the past. But managing drivers is a PITA for an app.
Hmmm. We could mount a video camera pointing at the computer screen, with a live video feed to the computer. The computer knows what is being shown on the screen, so can detect hands or pieces of card on wires that are blocking the screen from the camera. User feedback can come from painting a darkening “shadow” on the screen.
Back to topic, I think this raises the more general question of how to properly learn by oneself a skill set that involves theory, practice and experimentation using available resources with a critical mind to sort out BS from rigorous content. It’s pretty much Internet survival kit.
This is the difficult bit, when starting out from nothing, or even from a few years darktable use and a science background. And I fear to some extent we’re back to gurus, or at least someone who can lay out the learning path, and this was the one of the motivations behind the thread I raised (Image Processing – Recommended Reading).
You’ve done more than anyone else to try to help us get our heads around this but most (certainly beginners) would have trouble separating the intelligent and useful content you’ve generated from the “BS” that’s also out there. Personally as I’m learning more I’m starting to put together my own documentation (which may end up being something I can share with the community) but as you suggest it needs to be pretty comprehensive and every time I think about it, it grows some more.
As a rule of thumb, look at the pictures from the guy who is speaking : the results he is able to produce are the best clue about his level of craftsmanship.
Then look at his workflow : is there an apparent method/logic or if it is all random, does it looks tidy or cluttered and complicated ?
Finally, look at the way the editing is conducted : is there a clear goal at the beginning (“I want a bright commercial look” or “I want a dark and moody atmosphere”) and clear path from tool to result, or is it a succession of “let’s use that”, then “let’s use that” followed by random pulling and pushing sliders ?
Somewhere here I saw this link written by aurelienpierre posted.
Interesting to read! (and for his standard very short and easy to read 
) Just two question about this statement:
You can perform at least 80% of your processing with just 4 modules :
- exposure
- white balance
- color balance
- filmic
#1.) is exposure and basic adjustments the same?
#2.) with filmic you mean filmic rgb, right?
#1: yes and no - basic adjustment is intended to be used without further modules that affects tonal adjustments (one to rule them all) exposure is the module that can be used in combination with further modules
#2: filmic (without rgb) is only available for edits made with dt 2.6.
Yes.
Funnily enough, riding that article got me trying again, and starting off using just those modules, and I’m doing a lot better now. I wish I’d spotted it sooner.