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I was once caught in a contractual dispute that occurred because the author used passive. The contract basically said 'X will be done' without identifying wheth

I was once caught in a contractual dispute that occurred because the author used passive. The contract basically said 'X will be done' without identifying whether the customer or contractor was expected to do X. Unfortunately this wasn't spotted until the contract was in place. If you must use passive in situations like these, please at least identify the agent, e.g. "X will be done by Y". Oy just use the shorter, explicit alternative: " X will do Y"

ripe 3y ago
> Unfortunately this wasn't spotted until the contract was in place. Sorry, couldn't resist pointing out this use of the passive voice.
- KineticLensman 3y ago
  ha! In my defence I was demonstrating the way that passive voice can also be used to obscure responsibility after the event, as in "mistakes were made"