I/O shield:

1) Shield to keep electro-magnetic radiation inside of the case
2) Dust Cover / Air circulation director: The fan in the power supply shall draw air throughout the entire case and not just along the short way from the I/O area to the power supply that's usually right above.
3) Aesthetics: No ugly hole.
Answer from zebonaut on Stack ExchangeSo pretty much the title + what happens if i dont use one ?
It's acts as a blood color verification tool. See when you cut your fingers on the io shield you'll be able to verify your blood color.
The shield's main job is to protect the pc from dust, and it also makes the rear look a little better if that matters to you.
Is and IO shield necessary?
What is an IO shield, and how important is it?
How important is an I/O shield ?
Do I really need an io shield?
Where can I get an IO shield?
How should I mount a motherboard with a pre-installed IO shield?
Is an I/O plate necessary for all computer builds?
I/O shield:

1) Shield to keep electro-magnetic radiation inside of the case
2) Dust Cover / Air circulation director: The fan in the power supply shall draw air throughout the entire case and not just along the short way from the I/O area to the power supply that's usually right above.
3) Aesthetics: No ugly hole.
It's simply for covering the back of the computer, and for shielding your inputs and outputs from being jarred around and damaged when you're plugging in and unplugging things. Some people on this thread seem confused. Because it has "shield" in the name, people think it's shielding against current or EMF. It has nothing whatsoever to do with current, or EMF interfering with radios or anything else. I use radios, I also have no covers on my computer, side front or back. To add to that, the radio I have right now is inside my computer. It's really only aesthetic, there to look good because as a shield for your inputs and outputs most of them are fairly useless without being actually attached to the board and solid rather than thin and flimsy.
Basically the mobo I've ordered for my upgrade is going to arrive without an I/O shield (kinda my fault for not reading the description fully but then again, it was a short sentence right at the end..).
Is this anything serious ? Should I consider returning it ? Would prefer not to seeing how I'd probably have to pay, and then pay for shipping again when ordering a different mobo.