It's really case-specific. But it's not hard to see where an error page "SQL Connection Failed" is better than not recording user's orders, mis-crediting their

It's really case-specific. But it's not hard to see where an error page "SQL Connection Failed" is better than not recording user's orders, mis-crediting their account, etc. At least with a hard error it's obvious there's a problem and it must be fixed immediately. With inconsistencies, you might e.g. end up with customers expecting travel reservations only to show up and find this to not be the case. By the time the accountant finds the error, the business could be irreparably harmed.