Let's just go ahead and settle this debate in a sensible way. Sorry for the hijack, but you can all thank me later
1) With the accessory attached, you can both rest your finger on it
and guard against pick damage.
2) Without the accessory, you can still rest your finger on the mandolin, but you
can't guard against pick damage.
3) The overwhelming majority of mandolins are played with a plectrum, not fingerstyle. Based on pictures of historical instruments, as well as modern gigging mandolins (see Emory Lester, Don Julin), it's reasonable to think that pick damage is more of a possibility than not on an instrument that gets played regularly.*
Ergo, the unique characteristic that defines its utility is as a "pick guard."
*(Whether or not that constitutes "proper" technique may still be up for debate. I do not plant my pinkie, nor do I regularly scratch the top with my pick. I have been playing plucked instruments for 20 years.)
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