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Comment by j_s | Hacker News Reader

I read some other news story on this today. Is there an actual apology yet? And if not, does it matter?

In my mind, no apology is better than a 'sorry you were upset' non-apology, but there are apologies that manage to seem genuine as well. As I write this I am reminded of the show 'The Orville's "apology tour"... I don't necessarily think an apology is needed or helpful.

Always interested in examples of corporate PR, whether negative, neutral-ish, or positive.

Edit: obviously I don't care enough(?) about the specifics of this instance... Hopefully it's also obvious that I appreciate the chance to evaluate the community's response to a favored company. Mozilla seems to be allowed quite a bit of leeway.

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The first sentence reads: 'We didn’t think hard enough about how our actions would affect the community, and we’re sorry for letting you down.' So yes, they have apologised.

Thanks. Sounds like their apology feels genuine to you; appreciate the feedback.

If you actually read the article, I'm pretty sure you'll find the words "we're sorry" in there.

Twice!

Thanks. Do you have time to expand on why this counts as a genuine apology to you (or not?).

Interesting to me that all it takes to count as an apology to some is the words 'we're sorry'.

I hope to find similar discussion(s) where an HN user practiced his hobby of rewriting corporate apologies. Also nice to have another example where initial response can be completely tone deaf with little consequence.

You might find this thread[1] of interest.

All you have to do is drop the word "sorry", it doesn't matter if the apology actually addressed any of the concerns that were raised.

FB was sorry for being "unclear". Mozilla is sorry for "the confusion" and for "letting down members of [the] community".

The headlines will read "[Company] apologizes for [event that triggered criticism]" and everyone will carry on as if the apology directly addressed that event. The lawyers and shareholders will breathe a sigh of relief, and the matter will soon be forgotten.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15449954

Thanks for another example, and the specifics of this one.

From what you've said it doesn't sound like anyone at Mozilla (specifically the Chief Marketing Officer representing the company) apologized for doing anything wrong. "letting down" comes closest for sure and may be enough for most.

Found it: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11379475

swanson: My hobby: role-playing how I would respond as the CEO if my company was getting skewered on HN. Here is my version!

Also, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3523763

abbasmehdi: Proper apologies have three parts: 1) What I did was wrong. 2) I’m sorry that I hurt you. 3) How do I make it better? It’s the third part that people tend to forget…. Apologize when you screw up and focus on other people, not on yourself.

(Couldn't find the exact YouTube timecode; https://teamrich.wordpress.com/2007/10/20/pausch-last-lectur... )

>anon808: The most import part of that apology formula is missing, actually meaning it. Also if the answer to #3 is obvious (ie stop doing what your apologizing for) then one shouldn't have to ask.

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