I'm aware that I'm perhaps atypically vehement on this point of view - I refuse to delete old phone numbers, and have had a tough time removing frenemies/old flames/former friends on Facebook and other social media simply because, although I may not have a connection to these people now, I'd prefer to know what they are up to if I so choose. Except in extreme cases (a particularly poisonous former friend, a particularly painful and frequently-thought-of old lover) when I can't help myself or it's better to excise the drama, I opt for the ability to have knowledge over completely cutting someone out. Part of this is because I want to prove to myself that I am able to not interact with them (once a relationship is ended, for instance). And a large part of it is also a raving curiosity I've always possessed. I very well may be in the minority here and if it comes to that I will accept it, but for me the mute function would lose its functionality, unless in an extreme, inescapable case of personal harassment.
Yeah, I can see where you're coming from, because I probably wouldn't use "mute as comment ignore" all too much either unless it was blatant spamming. I personally wouldn't use the mute function as it currently is either because I don't want to block someone from sharing their views with other people, even if it's views I disagree with on posts that I make. Social media is hard, let's go shopping.