Technical and organizational issues
What's this site about?

Technical and organizational issues

I submitted a picture. Why wasn't it posted?

There are two possibilities: one is that we haven't gotten to yours yet — there is quite a backlog — and one is that yours was rejected for one reason or another.

Why would a submission be rejected?

Our criteria are somewhat subjective. We wish we could publish everybody's picture, but we have standards for quality and only limited server space. We will reject your picture if it is too hateful or hostile. We are about courtesy and communication, not insults and recrimination. You may hate Bush or think his supporters are idiots; we prefer not to give voice to such sentiments.

A submission can also be rejected for being too large (the limits are 75KB and 640px by 640px), too tangential (this site isn't about caricatures of Bush or other drawings unrelated to apology), or too illegible (please, don't write a novel, and please, make your writing readable to the camera).

I emailed you a picture. What happened to it?

I'm afraid the volume of submissions makes it impossible for us to reply to each one personally. Our email box is so full at this point and our days so busy that we can't deal with your submissions individually. Thank you for each and every one, though. May we respectfully request that you resubmit using the form?

The submission form is broken/disabled!

We are probably having technical problems. We are sorry (of course). Being that our site is maintained by a loosely affiliated collective of nerds nationwide, it follows that there will be the occasional organizational breakdown. The site's popularity has surpassed our wildest imaginations and has kept us working non-stop to keep up. We're proud of each and every one of you, and continue to work. The submission page will be running again as soon as possible. Stay cool!

What happens to the money from T-shirts, ads and donations?

We understand that we have to tread carefully in the waters of commerce, as this site is about message and not merchandise. Each of these measures was taken in order to cover expenses. After careful consideration, we also figure a T-shirt is a message.

In case you're wondering if we're profiteering, all our man-hours have been pro bono so far. If this ever takes up enough of our time that we deem it necessary to pay ourselves, we'll do it by other means. However, so far, we are barely breaking even on costs. At the time of this writing, we are pushing 350GB/day down the wire. Should any income be left that does not go to our hosting providers (the inimitable and superlative Rackspace), it will be donated to charity.

We are planning to post a complete breakdown of income and expenses on the site, so any doubts left can be resolved. In case there is money to donate, we will investigate a list of charities for how they spend their money and what they stand for, and we'll publish the list of those selected before we give.

What's this site about?

Most people who think carefully understand that Americans are not really any more jingoistic or xenophobic than people in other countries, but it never hurts to reinforce, especially considering what happened on November 2nd, 2004. What must it have looked like to the world outside our borders? America proudly re-appointed its reckless, incompetent and corrupt government. How much of America? Fifty-two percent. The rest of us are aghast and dismayed.

Lots of fuss is made about the “global village.” The Internet was supposed to make communication between cultures, countries and peoples painless and easy. It was supposed to build bridges. But it doesn't do this automatically; somebody has to reach out. The Internet was supposed to lead to education and understanding. It doesn't. Rarely do people on the internet apologize. I thought it was high time. The world needs to understand that there are people in America who don't like what our government is doing. And from the mail we're receiving, there are people in the international community who appreciate this.

Also, come on, it's kind of amusing.

Why does America need to apologize?

It doesn't. Our message isn't normative; it doesn't require anything of anybody. We don't say you should be sorry or you must be sorry. Our apologies are voluntary. Situations like this are great sources of misunderstanding and rancor between cultures. We don't pretend apologies are the solution, but we don't see the harm in offering them.

What are other people saying about you?

You can find a sampling of our press coverage here..

Why are you apologizing to the terrorists?

We prefer not to confuse terrorists with the rest of the world.

Don't you understand that an apology is a sign of weakness?

You are free to think so; we are of the opinion that the willingness to apologize is a sign of courage and strength.

Are you ashamed to be an American?

No. Are you ashamed to be a human?

Why are you self-flagellating?

Self-flagellation is a bit self-focused, isn't it? I want to give people a place to express their sympathy with the dismay of the rest of the world at this election result.

This is so pointless! Why aren't you out really supporting your cause? You know, volunteering, canvassing, running for office? You should be ashamed!

Who are you to say we're not? The second picture on our front page is a gentleman who has been canvassing for Kerry for the last three months. He's walked from door to door so much that his calves have turned into carbide steel. Don't you dare assume that we're not doing our part, just because we spared ten seconds to hold a sign up to a camera.

Why don't you just accept that Bush won and get on with your lives?

We have. That's why we're so sorry.

Bush rules, Kerry drools. So there.

Have a lolly.

Sorry Everybody

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