It is an honest apology.
I didn't realize how bad it was until I was called out. It isn't "oh, I got caught," it is "oh, shit, that was a really bad thing to do."
It was an unthinking mistake on my part. I'm human and make mistakes.
Thanks for handling a shitty thing to have done with some grace, Corey. I can't accept your apology on Heather's behalf, but I do hear your contrition. For my part, it's genuinely appreciated.
So why did you initially think this project justified your original tweet? I think that would really help other people understand where you're coming from. Otherwise it looks like you thought it would be cool to say someone's code is awful without even looking at it. An apology is nice but why don't you tell us what kind of thought process led to what you did wrong?
It's just like if you do something bad at school to another kid, and then only apologize after your teacher makes you. We all know it's a bullshit apology but apparently it's still valid.
A bullshit apology would have been full of prevarication and "I'm sorry if you were offended." Timing aside, this was a full-on "Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa."
At this rate, I'm expecting another blog post comparing these two apologies...
It's not bullshit if you genuinely failed to recognize your own poor behavior and are grateful for others calling you out on it. Unless you constantly reflect on your own behavior in your spare time, this is often the only way apologies end up happening anyway: someone says something or does something to make it clear what you did was not appreciated.