In reply to:

Yeah, this is definitely a pet hate of mine in all its forms, though the one that drives me most up the wall is the confusion of its with it's

Sorry, shona, but that particular sin, doesn't top my list. Higher up, though not necessarily on top, is loose for lose. As much as this drives me into homicidal rage, it puzzles me. To date, I can't recall having seen it outside the IT arena, where it appears to be endemic, even among people who claim that English is their first language.