@Shapeless,
Quote:Some of the claims about syntax are plainly false despite being respected by the authors. For example, Chapter IV, in an unnecessary piece of bossiness, says that the split infinitive "should be avoided unless the writer wishes to place unusual stress on the adverb." The bossiness is unnecessary because the split infinitive has always been grammatical and does not need to be avoided. (The authors actually knew that. Strunk's original version never even mentioned split infinitives. White added both the above remark and the further reference, in Chapter V, admitting that "some infinitives seem to improve on being split.")
One should also note that "the split infinitive 'should be avoided unless the writer wishes to place unusual stress on the adverb'" is a passive construction.
I agree in general with the article. In terms of style, Strunk & White is harmless, albeit largely useless. "Be clear" indeed! It's more prescriptive grammar rules, however, are usually wrong.