This issue is complex and involves, in my view, two main aspects:
- The cultural context in which human-computer interaction is inserted.
- The usage context (error, informative alert, etc.) that made it necessary to display the message to the user.
On the cultural context...
First, one must consider that there are significant cultural differences with regard to the act of apologizing. There are studies comparing American and Japanese cultures that show that in certain situations (such as when someone collects a pen that you dropped) Americans use the word Thanks (thank you) to express gratitude while Japanese use the word Sumimasen (sorry) to express a similar feeling - though under a cultural meaning of humility or subjugation (Sugimoto, Naomi. "Sorry we apologize so Much": Linguistic Factors Affecting Japanese and U.S. American Styles of Apology. Intercultural Communication Studies VIII-1, 1998).
I tried to find similar material comparing other cultures with Latin cultures, but I did not find (perhaps these studies are not common here). In any case, from my own experience I believe that this same distinction also exists in relation to our culture: I have English and French friends who have no shame in inviting only part of a group to a children’s party (in front of the others, not invited because they do not fit the condition "having children"); in this same scenario, we Latinos would make the invitation individually and privately or we would apologize for not inviting the singles and couples without children.
The fact is that the excuse is an important social lubricant, whose character in the interaction also serves as a way to indicate the real intention of the interlocutor (something like "I really didn’t mean to hurt/bother you on purpose")and so is traditionally used to initiate a conversation considering a possible interruption of any introspection/activity of the recipient of the message (Wagatsuma, Hiroshi and Rosett, Arthur. "The Implications of Apology: Law and Culture in Japan and the United States". Law & Society Review, v.20, n.4, 1986). Especially in relation to Japanese culture, the apology is considered as necessary to "prepare the atmosphere" of the interaction ("Why Japanese apologize so often?" , Facebook Note - Japanese Language & Culture, 2008), but again I believe that this is also happening in Latin culture when we begin a conversation ("sorry sir, what time is it?" does not necessarily indicate a fault or fault, and has for us virtually the same meaning of "excuse me sir, what time is it?").
On the context of use...
In addition to the cultural context, it should also be considered that the presentation of the message aims to communicate to the user (read "man") some information relevant the condition in which the application (read "the computer") is. In other words, it is a human-computer interaction initiated by the computer. Just over 10 years ago computer scientists became interested in research related to User Experience and to Affective computing, and it is increasingly believed that the hedonic, emotional and social character of the interaction is fundamental not only in the choice of a product but also in the continuity of its use. This means that it is not enough for a product to be safe, effective and pleasant (in the sense of absence of discomfort), it should also provide an interesting and appropriate experience to the context in which it is used.
I remember the key note presented by the President. Dr. Soraia Raupp Musse in the WVC'2008 in which she cited the example of one of the first sessions of the film "The Polar Express" presented to an audience of children. According to the teacher, the way the characters' eyes moved in a particular scene (I can’t remember which one specifically) was so distinct from the natural that many of the young children simply cried out in fear. This example is somewhat exaggerated here, but serves to illustrate the point I want to get at: the way the interaction occurs is important for the human part of this interaction, because it is natural that we seek to humanize the other side (i.e., the machine).
There are numerous works being carried out to build humanoid computational agents in order to make the interaction more empathic through the mimicry of facial and corporeal expressions, and also of vocal expressions like the "hum hum" that denotes "I understand you" (examples 1, 2, 3, 4, and especially 5 and 6). I believe that all this effort means that there is a recognition of the importance of the humanization of the machine in this human-computer interaction.
Concluding...
Finally coming to the subject of the question about the use or not of excuses in a message, everything suggests that this use is not only acceptable (at least in our cultural context - and probably also for the Japanese! : )) as may even be necessary under certain conditions. In any case, it is not simply a question of apologizing for a failure, but of softening the way information is presented or of making the interaction more empathetic and natural to the human user. And I think that goes for any form of interaction, whether it’s just textual or not.
A scenario in which the use of "sorry" seems valid under the judgment of the previous arguments is in the case where the program condition interrupts or prevents the use of the product (or significant part of the product) by the user. An example of this scenario is when a user turns on their Playstation to watch a movie on Netflix, but the system reports that it is under maintenance. It seems socially appropriate to apologize in this case, mainly because the impact on the experience ("wow, I really wanted to watch this movie now...") is definitely great, and perhaps this impact can be mitigated by an indication of humility and subjugation in the interaction that somehow demonstrates the creator’s concern about the malaise caused by the lack of the product.
Perhaps excuses really aren’t necessary when informing you that you don’t have access to a certain resource, but I’m afraid that still depends on the context of use. To indicate to a user of a corporate system (i.e., a system he is required to use for work reasons) that he does not have access to a particular resource, the lack of excuses seems to be irrelevant because probably the attempt at invalid access treated him or heris an honest misunderstanding on the part of man and does not necessarily alter his experience. However, in the indication of impossibility of access to a resource in an entertainment or personal system (that is, something the user uses because he wishes, and does it for fun or for some personal benefit) the use of excuses may be appropriate. In fact, in this case it may even be appropriate to include additional interactions such as "You would like to have access to this resource?".
EDIT:
I found that thread on User Experience that deals with the same subject. The answer accepts (and also with more votes) agrees that the use of "apologies" is appropriate and often necessary. Among the various arguments (I recommend reading the question and its answers), there are two based on citations of scientific studies whose results support a courteous strategy to apologize.
The first citation is to the article "The Effect of Apologetic Error Messages and Mood States on Computer Users' Self-appraisal of Performance". The passage that seems relevant to me is this (in free translation):
[...] When users encountered problems, the system provided
certain error messages representing a courtesy strategy
positive (for example, a joke), negative (for example, a
simple excuse) and a mechanical error message (for example, the
page is temporarily unavailable). Study results
demonstrate that users who deal with social events and expressions
courtesy prefer significantly more to receive messages
with excuses than mechanical messages or with jokes; also prefer
significantly more receiving such messages than other options
less courteous.
The second quote is taken from the article "Computer Apology: The Effect of the Apologetic Feedback on Users in Computerized Environment". Again, what seems relevant in free translation:
[...] this study shows that almost all
participants did not consider the answers (feedbacks) with apologies
as something strange, being that 95% of them considered such delicate responses and
a consideration for your well-being. In this regard, it seems that the
participants find it so interesting to notice a behavior
respectful (as an apology) when they encounter an error
caused by computer inability as they would find if they found
a problem in interaction with a human. These study results
indicate that the representation of a person’s affective state in the project
interface is very important in human-computer interaction because people are
more understanding when seeing emotional aspects in the interface as
sensitivity, respect and sense of humanity. So, these
results may be evidence to support that the use of
expressions with excuses on computers can foster the idea of a
really user-centric design.
It should be noted that excuses are not necessarily more appropriate than humor. In the scientific study of the first citation, user orientation was previously evaluated and it is expected that people who live in more courteous social contexts (perhaps, for example, hotel attendants) prefer similar behaviors in the systems with which they interact. Anyway, it is noted in the two researches that the crucial issue is the humanization with which users treat the system, which should be included in the interaction project in one way or another.
Error messages should be comprehensive to the user. More importantly explain easily for him to know what happened, and check if the error is his or the sitema, than just receive an "Sorry, error occurred".
– EduDornelles
The staff also understands psychology, my humble opinion give excuse is kind, but it would be much more useful to give the excuse and inform a link or in the message itself the requirements to achieve that permission, and if they are achievable. Something like "Sorry, your reputation does not allow you to take this action, know "here" how it works and how to achieve this minimum reputation"
– Leandro Amorim
In any case, the error messages should be clear, other than: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/getfile/378314 "Sorry, Something Went Wrong. An Unexpected error has ocurred."
– user622
In my humble opinion, taking into account the scenario of an application that uses HTTP, errors of type 4xx should not apologize, after all the error of the client, the errors of type 5xx, yes, because the error is of the application, especially if it is paid. Anyway, as already said, the error mesing should be clear and complete or contain a link that explains better
– Costamilam