What's the function of the buffer lock?

[vadupleix]

Hello,

I'm new to airsoft and I just got my G&P magpul AR gbb two days ago, and today when I opened up my gun to check the type of the bolt, I found my buffer lock is broken.
I don't know when and why it broke but it seems I can still shoot without it and I don't understand the functionality of this thing except for holding off the buffer when I open up the gun. So I'm just wondering if I'll damage my gun by shooting without it and why?
Thanks a lot!

[M.S.-ARC]

I have a KJW m4 GBBR and I've had a failure on the buffer lock once. It really didn't affect the performance negatively but I still fixed it.

From what I can see, the main purpose for that is so that the contents of the buffer tube doesn't fly out when you open the gun up. That's how I discovered the problem in the first place was when everything shot out when I opened the gun up. That can be annoying if you are trying to do any fixes in the middle of a game or are swapping bolts out but if you don't have to do that, it shouldn't affect the performance too much. It might push your bolt forward a little more than its supposed to so maybe eventually you'll have an issue that way.