[ali_m]

I'm not sure what you're getting at - if you agree with me that "independent" is clearer than "agnostic" then what's the problem? I could understand your objection if you felt that the replacement word was somehow less clear, but if it's at least as good or better then why _not_ mandate its use in a style guide?

I get the impression that most of the people who are complaining in the comments here are really getting worked up about some inferred political bias, rather than because they actually disagree with the substance of the style guide.