[twic]

There are perhaps two parts to an apology. One is an acknowledgement that you did something wrong, and that you should not have done it. The other is a sort of ritualistic, performative (in the original sense!) use of language that may make someone feel better. This is the difference between:

"I made a mistake when i dereferenced that null pointer"

and:

"I'm sorry i dereferenced that null pointer"

I absolutely agree with you that the ritualistic part is pointless, and perhaps harmful if it is performed instead of actually fixing the problem (see also "thoughts and prayers").

But i wouldn't want to stop doing the acknowledgement part.

[zeroimpl]

I wouldn’t refer to the first stage as an apology, it is simply an acknowledgement.

I very rarely apologize for a bug at work. I don’t expect others to apologize to me either. Apologies should be reserved for personal/relationship things, like forgetting to invite somebody to a meeting.