what's the deal with "user error" on fail?

When one triggers an exception with something like fail "Error opening file" The user gets a message like Fail: user error Reason: Error opening file which is confusing to the user, because it the user's fault. Is there some other way that it is recommended one fail? Or should I be catching userErrors at the top level and failing with my own error message? -- David Roundy http://www.abridgegame.org/darcs