Feel free, but it is not arbitrary as I understand the word, because justifications are attached: generally speaking passive voice is dull to read, and passive voice obscures reality.
Passive voice is not necessarily any more obscure than active. You convey the same information with the statement “Z has been Yed by X” as with the statement “X Yed Z.” As it happens, this is the argument that Jonathan_Graehl used when I advocated revising to use active voice. If you carry the assumption that passive voice is vague or obscure, it can lead you to simply not notice passive constructions that are precise.
Passive voice is not necessarily any more obscure than active. You convey the same information with the statement “Z has been Yed by X” as with the statement “X Yed Z.” As it happens, this is the argument that Jonathan_Graehl used when I advocated revising to use active voice. If you carry the assumption that passive voice is vague or obscure, it can lead you to simply not notice passive constructions that are precise.