In that case, it does not materially change the content but it does change the tone to indicate you would appreciate them responding in the affirmative . Adding

In that case, it does not materially change the content but it does change the tone to indicate you would appreciate them responding in the affirmative . Adding a “please” to a request also doesn’t make it harder to understand. You do have a point, though. Passive voice can be a lot more wordy / harder to parse, but people often use it to be more polite sounding.