“I'm unclear” versus “it's unclear to me that”

Question

It sounds like your proposal would make a great feature request for the existing module. I'm unclear why you consider it was not a good idea.

Does replacing I'm unclear with it is unclear to me make the sentence more clear?
Are there any contexts where I'm unclear would have a different meaning? Is it used in some regions/dialects to mean something different from it is unclear to me?

Answer 1

I believe that in most instances of use, the speaker intends "I am unclear" to have the same meaning as "it is unclear to me," and the speaker uses this phrasing perhaps to be a little kinder to the person whom he/she addresses by way of taking on the burden of the misunderstanding.

However, technically, "I am unclear" means that the speaker is not explaining something in a way that others might easily understand, e.g.,

I am unclear in my presentation about whether the relationship is merely correlational or causal because tests were inconclusive.