Here’s the link to the story. Mute & moot are mentioned early in the article.
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/Features/Columns/?article=EmbarrassingWriting>1=10789
Great! Now we’ll be having to throw a party and give them the best parking spots for a month!
But… but… I don’t think Vizzini was using the word “Inconceivable!” incorrectly. To him, it was ‘inconceivable’ that he should fail. He was, of course, incorrect on that point. 
I agree.
Vizzini could not conceive of possible failure on his part.
I do, however, have a problem with the finger typos. I find them in my posts frequently. No trouble at all embarrassing myself in writing.
Ah, but the important question is: do you judge people by these mistakes? I’m afraid I do. When I see a sentence like “Do most people play there whistles with there fingers or there toes?” or “Your going to have trouble with those pipes,” I not only don’t want to answer, I want to ask them if they’ve managed to get through elementary school yet. In fact, one of the reasons I broke up with a boyfriend many years ago was that his letters, while we were heartbreakingly parted for some months, were filled with spelling errors. I make mistakes too, especially when I’m in a hurry, but some words are just so obviously wrong! Their, there, they’re… your, you’re … mistakes with these drive me right up the wall!
Susan
Spelling Snob
Well, incontinence would be invonvenient, I suppose.
That article really peaked my interest.
I confess to being a spelling snob as well. And I detest my own errors, as I said. But I’m going to have to reveal my split personality on this one–as fond as I am of spelling and grammar, I must protest that people who are differently abled in this area may be, otherwise, deserving of affection. I have a dyslexic 15 year old who can’t spell his way out of Boggle Jr., but I hope will be loved by someone. Other than me. I’m required to, by biologic imperative, in spite of his determination to regale me with the mind-numbing details of ninja weaponry, and how each item is used.
If you asked my ex-boyfriend’s parents today (and probably even him)I’m positive they’d say he was the winner in the long run.
Susan
I’m on a list where some of the people are dyslexic. We aren’t allowed to pull them up on spelling or grammatical errors. That’s fine, as long as we know them. Maybe that’s worth putting in your signature:
[Dyslexic][Partially-sighted & using Speech-recognition Software][Member of the Kampayn for Rashonal Speling]
That’s a very good idea.
My kid, come to that, has in fact been helped by online communication. Through playing Guild Wars (one of those multi-player online things) he has been forced into learning to type quickly and spell readably.
I know a lot of people who, like myself, don’t speak/write english as their native tongue and most don’t get english at school either. The mis-use of their, there, they’re, where, we’re, were, then, than, … is very common for these people. I don’t think it’s a reason to get upset or judge them though, I once made these mistakes to but due to the almighty intarwebz I’m now writing more english than dutch/flamish (my native language) and my english has improved a lot.
Still these people atleast TRY to learn your language. How many dutch people can understand english? Quite a lot. How many english people can understand dutch? Close to 0% is my guess.
Point being, many of these ‘obvious’ (to you) mistakes are made by people who don’t speak the language in their country.
All of the above is of course irrelevant if you’re born english, then you deserve to get slapped
Personally, I hate spelling. As long as people can tell what I’m saying, why does it really matter if I forgot an e or something. In fact, the only reason my posts aren’t full of spelling errors is that Safari has a built in spellcheck 
I judge official memos and letters from well educated people (ok, people with degrees who may or may not be well educated.) All other people get a free ride from me. Besides, the visuals of their errors are a hoot.
For people who read a lot and like to learn through books, those errors seem silly. I think they’re more common in people who are more social and learn more through conversation and interaction. You’ll notice they’re usually similar or indistinguishable in sound. I think it’s fun to read about…the article just wet my appetite, although I’m sure many would think it could have been paired down a bit.
The one that baffles me is how often I see people type “loose” when they mean “lose.”
Yeah, that’s the thing, like BoneQuint says. Those among us who are really drawn to written language are naturally going to be more sensitive to typos and such. It is my thing. I love words, I love playing with them, and I love learning new languages. But there is much in the world that I’m pretty deficient in! I’m grateful, for example, to have a brother-in-law who is a very savvy business manager. This has stood us in good stead when my husband, his longtime partner, had to retire due to disability 2 years ago. So, the bro-in-law’s inferior spelling is really not all that important. Another bro-in-law, same family, is a talented electrician and designer and has helped me troubleshoot various household problems. I can hardly get picky about his spelling either.
I do think, though, that if spelling or grammar are not your forte, it is wise to know someone more gifted in that area to proofread for you in contexts where those things matter. Odds are though, that that person may not be so clever when it comes to figuring out what the heck’s wrong with your radiant heat manifold.
Smug article.
Nothing new. Nothing really worth getting bent about.
The kind of crap written by tabloid journalists who get a dictionary for Xmas.