So here's the deal: I made an April Fool's joke that turned out to really bother a couple of people. It was not my intent to bring distress or any other harm to anyone, and when I saw it did, I immediately revealed that it was just a joke. I also personally apologized to the two people really upset by it, and removed the post that contained the joke. I openly and publicly apologized on that site as well, to any who may have been offended (most weren't, and were merely startled, and laughed about it after), and admitted that I felt really bad about it. And I really did feel awful. To the point of becoming physically ill over it. In hindsight, I see that it was perhaps in poor taste among some, and I did my absolute best to make repairs.

But now this is where I might seem like a jerk to some, I guess: my point stands that it was A JOKE. No harm was meant, and they both know it. I am NOT someone who intentionally hurts people. I wrote long, heartfelt apologies to both of them, like I said, but they both seem to be dead set on remaining offended and not letting it go, and I think that's just ridiculous. I mean, beyond apologizing, what more can I do? Even a joke in poor taste is still a bloody joke. No harm came of it. They act as if they never made a poor decision in their lives. If they choose to hold a grudge over something like this, that's their own fault, in my opinion. I've forgiven far worse than this. Like I said, I did honestly feel really bad about it, and expressed that abundantly. Call me callous, but knowing I honestly have repented of my misdeed to the best of my ability and conscience, I really don't feel bad anymore. I've done all I can, and any remaining butthurt is out of my hands. I personally find few things as annoying and childish as offering a sincere apology to someone, only to have them spit in my face. What's done is done. Nothing can change it. I made an honest effort to make amends, and I think that should be appreciated. And if they want to continue to stew and pout for no reason, so be it. I tried to be the bigger person, and they didn't.

So...that's my story. I'm going to feel how I'm going to feel, I guess, but I was just wondering how you guys see it. Am I really some terrible person? Am I even more terrible for NOT thinking I'm terrible? I haven't really had anyone to talk to about it. It's really bothering me, seeing as I work with both of these people (no, the joke did not take place at work), and I'm a little nervous that they may be petty enough to try to start drama at work.

I'm curious as to what the joke was. It's kind of hard to say if it was an awful thing or not without really knowing the extent of the content. I think it's kind of lame of them not to accept an apology though...unless it was something like telling them someone died or was terminally ill or something. We've all made crappy decisions in our lives, meaning they have too, so if they were any kind of normal, they'd understand.

I'm with about it depending on what the joke was...if you, for example, pretended to be a family member and said you had died or something like that, then I can see how that could be unforgivable because it can cause some pretty serious distress. There are some things that apologies don't always fix, and you may just have to accept that and deal with having some awkwardness at work. I don't think there's much more you can do since you already gave a heartfelt apology, I wouldn't tell them that they're being petty for not accepting your apology since everyone finds different things offensive. The joke was just made today though, and it could get better over time.

I'm curious to the joke as well, but here's the thing I think of: Just because you apologized, doesn't lessen the upset caused. It just means that you're sorry. They still have a right to be upset. You apologizing doesn't immediately dust things away. If that's how it worked nobody would ever be upset ever. Apologies are usually for the benefit of the person apologizing. We feel better by saying we're sorry. They may feel better by knowing we're sorry, but it doesn't mean the actual event is lessened. They still need to get over the joke. It's not up to you to decide when that happens, and if they're still upset, all you can do is just deal with it as they are.

I agree with the above posters; this situation REALLY depends on the joke. Did you pretend to have a mental breakdown and jokingly threaten suicide? Or did you just make an off-color joke that was in poor taste but probably forgivable overall?

The fact you aren't mentioning the joke leads me to believe it was something serious that shouldn't have been joked about. :| April Fools day is supposed to be for harmless pranks and light jokes. You can warp someone's trust when you fool around with very serious issues. Some topics just shouldn't be touched. It doesn't necessarily brand you as a bad person, especially if you take the information you've learned today and carry it with you for future personal growth.

I am honestly curious to learn more about this joke, tbh.

It does depend what the joke was in a way. I know some jokes that are posted online such as 'I am going to have a op to give my face a more feline appearance' can be funny. Everyone knows that has to be a joke ^_^. Its playful humor and some people might think you meant it.... but you can say April fools and they would have been fooled for even thinking you wanted to turn your face into a cat.
Something along the lines of 'there is a serial killer in the area'... or even 'my dog ate chocolate and needs a vet' those are seen as lies and upset people. We have all done it so it dosnt make you a bad person... you just need to learn from it. Jokes should be aimed at yourself for other peoples amusement and not to draw people in or target certain people. If the joke was aimed at yourself all along and they were offended by it and a apology was not enough... then they may need time. It may seem harsh but you have learnt not to say those sort of things to those people and that can only make your friendship stronger with better understandings of each other. If you aimed a joke at certain people that caused some harm... and they dont want to let it go... you just need to think about how/why it upset them and think about how to make it better over time. There may be trust issues somewhere or there is just some drama going on... if its just people being dramatic over something really silly then you also need to think that these people also dont get you and are stirring. A apology should have been enough and if friends are just going to stir over something really teeny... is it worth going on about it? They may not drop it but if you say you apologized and you want to drop the silly thing and get on with life without the drama... hopefully they will.

Sorry im rubbish at explaining stuff... but I hope it helps in some way ^_^

Given the whole tone of your post, I have my doubts as to whether you manage to pull off the "heartfelt apologies" you seem to think you did. Because almost everything you wrote here sounds deeply and sincerely unrepentant and unapologetic. Just because whatever you posted wasn't a big deal to you, doesn't mean that you get to decide that it shouldn't be a big deal to anyone else. (The very fact that you avoid stating what the "joke" was makes me suspect that it probably was bad enough to warrant offence - but this is so subjective as to be almost beside the point.)

Try waiting it out a few days and see if the situation gets better. Your colleagues might be more forgiving once they've had a proper chance to calm down and reflect on things. Nor is there any point in worrying about whether they will create drama at the workplace until it happens. A better plan would be to ensure you don't create [more] drama yourself by openly displaying that you feel you're the wronged party/"the bigger person".