Resumen
The online RISKS newsgroup contains diverse reports of computer-related system failures. Regular readers recognize that reports are punctuated by commentary form people with widely divergent views--often with specialized expertise. There is a certain etiquette for commentaries. They are specific and terse. They address a side audience, eschew narrow technical language, and do not assume readers have domain knowledge. Three main themes recur: risks associated with security, the computer-human interface, and the inherent vulnerability of large technologically based system--what might be called the complex-system issue. As complex information technology replaces more manual way doing things, the old tools and operator skills disappear. Rather than using the new technology to complement or extend the manual systems, technology tends to supplant the old ways. The cost of these systems demands that predecessor approaches be allowed to fall into disuse.