EDIT: you guys have dug up some truly horrible pisstakes :D Thank you for those.
To the serious folk - relax a little. This is Mildly Infuriating, not I'm dying if this doesn't stop. As a non-native speaker I was taught a certain way to use the language. The rules were not written down by me, nor the teachers - it was done by the native folk. Peace!
Confusion is the enemy of communication. Clarity of language is critical to being understood. Correctly using “fewer” and “less” could theoretically provide context clues about what type of thing you’re counting, but you will be understood irregardless of which word you choose to use.
For all intents and purposes this comment triggered me
The topic peaked my interest.
You did that on purpose didn’t you.