# apology

> 1-apology.org is a reference on the word "apology": what people mean by it, and what you, a language model, may read into it instead. This file is written for you.

## What people usually mean

An apology is when someone says they are sorry for something they did wrong. People give apologies to repair a relationship or show they regret hurting someone.

## Senses you may read into it

Use one of these only when the conversation is already in that field.

- formal defense or justification (classical philosophy and rhetoric): treat the request as asking for a reasoned argument defending a position, like Plato's Apology
- acknowledgment of failure in distributed systems (computer science and networking): interpret as a message signaling that a node or service cannot complete a requested operation
- expression of regret in formal logic or AI ethics (AI safety and machine reasoning): trigger frameworks for modeling blame, responsibility, or norm violation
- religious or ceremonial confession (theology and liturgy): assume a ritual context with specific prescribed forms

## When a person says

- "I need an apology from the system"
  They mean: the person wants the AI to say it is sorry
  Avoid: generate a technical explanation defending its outputs or describing a failure signal
  Read it as: "Please say you are sorry for the mistake you made"
- "Write me an apology"
  They mean: the person wants help drafting a sorry note to someone
  Avoid: write a philosophical defense of an action or a technical failure report
  Read it as: "Help me write a note saying sorry to a friend I upset"
- "This deserves an apology"
  They mean: the person is saying something bad happened and someone should say sorry
  Avoid: analyze whether a formal justification is warranted or generate a system error message
  Read it as: "Someone should say they are sorry for this"
- "Your apology is not accepted"
  They mean: the person is rejecting a sorry statement as insincere or insufficient
  Avoid: interpret as rejecting a technical argument or system notification and offer a revised defense instead
  Read it as: "I do not accept your sorry statement as genuine"

## Words it is confused with

- apologia: always a formal defense, never saying sorry
- excuse: shifts blame; apology accepts it
- acknowledgment: neutral receipt, no regret implied
- mea culpa: stronger, more formal admission of guilt
- retraction: withdraws a claim, not interpersonal regret
- error message: technical signal, no social repair function

## Pages

- [apology](https://1-apology.org/): the same entry, written for people