most folks don't want to have to deal with gankers to start with
And that is the point. You can deal with gankers, but it costs time and effort that are better spent elsewhere.
Storytime: I have been "playing" with gankers the last two days. I have had some networking and instancing issues recently that I think I got fixed, and to test that I decided to visit busy places in open to see how good or bad instancing works for me.
I slapped together a somewhat gank-proof ship (it is actually meant as a kind of armed bubble explorer, and it is more RP than anything, but it suits this purpose just fine) - a more or less fully engineered Phantom filled with shield boosters and HRPs, but it also carries a big fuel scoop and a FSD booster, and also a SRV bay and a DSS. For giggles I also put my Salvation Plasma Chargers on it, but it isn't really meant for fighting. It jumps 40-something, with pips to 4-2-0 it has 4000 shields and 2.200 armour and still permaboosts to 591. So I would say it is
somewhat gank proof. On the down side it is useless as an explorer, because it lacks quite some equipment. In the end it is only good for one thing: Evading ganks (for those interested:
This is the build).
So I exposed myself to the possibility of being ganked by going to Shinrarta in open. As is to be predicted, the usual known ganker figures
always hung around the main star. They never seem to sleep. Trying to reach Jameson is like running a gauntlet. I got interdicted a few times and so far always got away... but what is the point? It is not fun. The first times were kind of exciting because I didn't
really know if the ship would hold and if I could outrun an FDL, and also because I had never been interdicted by a player before and have no practice running from gankers. But it gets old fast. I don't intend to fight, and if I don't put a huge effort into the safety mechanisms of my ship I'd as well not play, at least not in that place. In the end, I cannot go where I want to unless I leave open.
To build this ship didn't take me alot. I had most of the parts in stock, I had to engineer the armour and one or two HRPs. But I have been playing for somewhat long and have good resources. A newish player doesn't. Now you can pull the standard argument "ShinDez requires Elite and thus the player isn't new", but let's face it - Elite in trading or exploration is no big feat these days. And places like ShinDez and Sol are practically new-player-magnets. And the other one, "don't go to popular places in open" is equally idiotic. Might as well not have open then.
There, I dare say it: These guys are total idiots. If they want the "challenge from a human player" as they claim, why don't they gank each other. I have no intention to entertain those tossers, so I avoid open.
Maybe I should offer a service... ganker distraction. Slap an interdictor on my speed courier, keep interdicting the gankers and then buzz off. See how they like it when their gameplay is ruined

.