Hall of Shame
Legal documents are full of words that make them harder to understand. We track these words and replace them with plain alternatives in every license we recraft. We call them shame words — not because the people who use them should feel bad, but because these words deserve to be shamed out of existence.
Why It Matters
The average person reads at an 8th-grade level. Most legal documents are written at a college or graduate level. That gap isn’t just inconvenient — it locks people out of understanding their own rights. Every confusing word is a small barrier. Add them up, and you get licenses that most people can’t read, even when those licenses directly affect them.
We measure readability with the Gunning Fog Index — a score that estimates the school grade level needed to understand a text on the first read. A score of 8 means an 8th-grader can read it. A score of 17 means you need a graduate degree. Most legal documents score between 14 and 20. Our goal is 8 or below.
Plain vs. Original: The Numbers
Here’s how Plain License compares to the original versions of the same licenses. Lower Gunning Fog scores are better.
| License | Original fog | Plain fog | Improvement | Shame terms remaining |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plain MIT License | ✗ 31.02 (Post-graduate) | ⚠ 9.41 (10th grade) | ↓ 21.61 grades | 0 |
| Plain Elastic License | ✗ 16.96 (Post-graduate) | ⚠ 8.86 (10th grade) | ↓ 8.1 grades | 0 |
| Plain Unlicense | ✗ 16.27 (Post-graduate) | ⚠ 11.48 (High school) | ↓ 4.79 grades | 0 |
| Plain MPL | ✗ 14.1 (Post-graduate) | ⚠ 9.34 (10th grade) | ↓ 4.76 grades | 0 |
These numbers come directly from the license files and are recalculated automatically during every build.
The Shame Words
Here are some of the words and phrases we flag and replace in our licenses. We use an automated linter to catch them, and we replace them with plain alternatives every time.
Single Words
| Shame word | What we say instead | Why it’s shameful |
|---|---|---|
| attorney | lawyer | ”Attorney” sounds formal for no reason. Everyone knows what a lawyer is. |
| utilize | use | Four syllables to say what “use” says in one. |
| alter, alteration | change | ”Change” is one of the first words children learn. |
| grant | give | ”We grant you permission” sounds like a king on a throne. “We give you permission” sounds like a person. |
| permit | allow | Simpler, friendlier, clearer. |
| irrevocable | permanent | ”Irrevocable” sends people to a dictionary. “Permanent” doesn’t. |
| perpetual | forever | Perpetual sounds like a legal spell. Forever is a word everyone knows. |
| statute | law | Everyone knows what a law is. |
| applicable | related | Simpler and just as precise in most contexts. |
| imply | suggest | Clearer and more conversational. |
| shall | must or will | ”Shall” is archaic and ambiguous. “Must” or “will” say exactly what you mean. |
| sublicense | let others use | Says directly what the word means. |
| indemnify | protect, cover costs | Three syllables to say what “protect” says in two. |
| notwithstanding | even if, despite | A single five-syllable word that means “even though.” |
| aforementioned | (name the thing) | Just say what you’re referring to. |
| herein, thereof, whereby | (remove or rephrase) | Ghost words that add length but no meaning. |
Wordy Phrases
| Shame phrase | What we say instead | Why it’s shameful |
|---|---|---|
| in order to | to | Three extra words that add nothing. |
| in the event that | if | Five words to say “if.” |
| with respect to | about | Just say what you mean. |
| with regard to | about | Same thing. |
| in the course of | during | Four words to say “during.” |
| pursuant to | under, following | Two syllables to replace a phrase nobody uses outside legal documents. |
| subject to | under | Often just “under” works fine. |
| in connection with | about, for | Vague and wordy. |
| for the purposes of | to, for | Four words to say “to.” |
| in accordance with | under, following | Formal phrasing where simpler words work just as well. |
We also watch for overuse of the word “that.” It’s often unnecessary and clutters sentences. Compare: “We believe that this is important” vs. “We believe this is important.” Same meaning, fewer words.
How We Enforce This
Every license file in our repository tracks a shame_words_count in its metadata. Our goal is always zero. We run automated checks during our build process that flag shame words in new content. Pull requests that add new license content must keep this count as low as possible.
We’re not perfect — sometimes a complex word is the right choice. But we make that choice deliberately, not out of habit.
The Bigger Picture
Shame words aren’t just a Plain License problem. They show up everywhere: in terms of service, privacy policies, rental agreements, medical consent forms, and more. Legal writing has a long history of using complex language — sometimes for precision, but often just out of tradition.
We think tradition is a poor excuse for excluding people from understanding documents that affect their lives. If a simpler word works just as well, use it.
Want to Help?
If you spot a shame word in any of our content, open an issue ➚ or submit a pull request. We’ll thank you for it.
If you want to learn more about writing plainly, check out our writing guidelines.