I don't believe in public apologies. And I believe even less in asking for them. In real life it never helps. What happens is that people lose their temper, then they cool off, and then later they indicate they're sorry, sometimes directly, sometimes implicitly.

(And I wasn't asking for one harpgirl, honest, - I was just curious. In real life I'm always being untactful, and it gets pointed out to me or I wouldn't know. I wouldn't be the least surprised to find that I'd been so on the Mudcat as well. And untactful can feel like bullying.)