On: So I’m the guy who sent the t-shirt out as a thank...

[dccoolgai]

Word count for "sorry" or "apologize" in that article: 0.

That is PR jiu-jitsu. Make everyone feel good, make yourself look good and don't even use the word "sorry". Of course, it helps that you were "in the right" to begin with, but deftly handled, nevertheless...

[saraid216 → dccoolgai]

Hm. Now that I think about it, both of those words are actually really bad for being used in a sincere apology. The salient points of an apology are (1) "I own this action, and this action was wrong and I understand why" and (2) "These are my actions in response and in recompense".

Neither of those call for saying, "I'm sorry" or "I apologize" and saying either seems to detract a bit. I could be wrong? It's interesting to think about.

[gmisra → dccoolgai]

What behavior should he be apologizing for, in your opinion?

[PeterWhittaker → gmisra]

This. He bought shirts - and gift certificates, etc. - with his money because they didn't have any other way to thank people.

He also wrote thank you notes.

Very old school. My grandmother would be proud.

T-shirt-gaters need to lighten the heck up.

[devindotcom → PeterWhittaker]

This is one of those situations where, since you're responding to a question, the "This." format of answer makes your comment unclear. Just FYI - it sounds like you're listing the things he should be apologizing for (although that's not the case given context, obviously).

[masklinn → gmisra]

None, hence

> it helps that you were "in the right" to begin with

[dhimes → gmisra]

Thank you. I don't see anything wrong with what he did.

[pbreit → dccoolgai]

"Sorry" doesn't really seem appropriate in this case. He sent out swag that some people thought was too little.

[daigoba66 → dccoolgai]

"I'm sorry" I guess is supposed to indicate sympathy. You don't need to sympathize to apologize.

[tempestn → daigoba66]

"I'm sorry" is commonly used both to express sympathy and to apologize.