Forum: Author Hangout

From the June 2016 Chicago Manual of Style online Qs and As:

"Q. The following wording seems problematic to me: "Additional software may be required to use the fingerprint reader." This could be interpreted to mean that the software might have to use the fingerprint reader. Your thoughts?

"A. There is certainly room for misunderstanding. Transposing into the active voice might help: The fingerprint reader may require additional software."

Beware of software using the fingerprint reader. Especially if it thinks fingerprints are porn...

EDIT to add the obvious: Beware of greedy fingerprint readers seeking additional software.

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Kind of depends on the the emphasis of the sentence. Let's say you were talking about next year's software budget. You would probably lead the sentence with "Additional software..."