In this case the spelling nazis had rightfully pointed to the correct spelling, because the wrong spelling is not a problem of style or preferences, but it causes a confusion between two different chemical substances, with very different properties and applications.

"silicon" is the chemical element number 14, and this name, which is used in the English-speaking countries, was coined by someone who believed that it is a good idea for it to rhyme with "carbon" (actually a bad idea in my opinion)

"silicone" is the generic name for a class of plastics, i.e. the polymers with a poly-siloxane structure. This name was coined by someone who believed that it is a good idea for it to rhyme with "acetone", because he erroneously believed that these polymers have a structure similar to ketones.