[fryke]

Originally Posted by nixgeek

I always thought of it as trashing it from your "virtual" desktop since you didn't need it anymore, and that way the disk would remove itself from the computer and be put somewhere in the "real-world" desktop or anywhere else in the real world. That's how it made sense to me.

But that's clearly a "workaround" for a user interface bug. When you "open a folder", you "open a folder". When you "label a file" you "label a file". But when you put a disk to the trashcan...
It's also not only about explaining what the metaphor should mean. Think of it the other way 'round. You're in front of a Mac Plus the first time in your life. Inserting the disk: Easy. You put it in. The Mac even helps you by sucking it in the last inch. But now: How to eject it? I'm *QUITE* certain that a user who doesn't know about it wouldn't try to move it to the trash. Not with important files on it.