"Beg[ging] Forgiveness" is only better than "Ask[ing] Permission" in one-off situations, where the consequences are tolerable.  It's a terrible fit here for two (2) reasons:<p>1)  It's not after-the-fact forgiveness you'd be seeking, but forgiveness "during-the-fact".  It's like indulgences - it's hard to make a sincere apology for a sin you're still committing.<p>2)  The other party has them over a barrel.  If Amazon doesn't accept the apology, it's not a broken friendship - they'll shut off the API and put the company out of business.  It's only a sound strategy to Beg Forgiveness if you can survive the consequences of a refusal to forgive.  Consider copyright infringement - it's better to get permission up front than trust that it's fair use or that the owner won't care, because you can't survive the multi-million dollar lawsuit they can bring.