It's not just about aesthetics, progress or available names too. It's a horrible and loose safety net at max. If you get hacked and your character got deleted, you can apply for a character restoration (which is not guaranteed to succeed btw!). All is good if it goes through. If by any chance that you accidentally delete your character, a friend pulling a horrible prank or get hacked again beyond your powers, you are pretty much left to your own devices.