The explanation owed to one person need not become a public performance.

There is a difference between owing someone an account and owing the world a statement. When you have let a person down, the explanation belongs to them, in private, at whatever length they need. Widening the audience changes what the explanation is for: it starts serving your reputation rather than their understanding, and they end up watching you manage other people’s opinion of you. That is a second small injury on top of the first.

When you need to explain yourself, work out who was actually affected and speak to exactly those people. Resist the urge to post, announce, or tell the story to a sympathetic third party first.