Nxt Alias?

[nxthaven]

Hi could someone explain in layman's terms what is a nxt alias is? Is it like a dns hoster? Does it change the Nxt ID instead of number you can change it to an alias? Does it help forging?

[roryn3kids]

I would like a laymans explainer as well!

[landomata]

Pls go thru the below thread if things are still not clear then I will clarify everything for you...just post back here:


https://nextcoin.org/index.php/topic,946.0.html

[roryn3kids]

Thanks for the link landomata - it was helpful but not complete (this needs to be made simple enough for an iphone user to use) - I take it now that an alias is associating your secret passphrase (private key in bitcoin speak) with a temporary account number (public key).  Are there limitations or parameters to the alias? ie... does it have to be a 10 digit number or can it be "Bobs Pizza" for example?

[Mistafreeze]

An alias is simply a pointer in the blockchain. It's very similar to DNS. When you go to google.com, DNS servers convert that to 74.125.239.144.

Aliases here work in a similar manner. When you put in the alias beerfund, it goes to the blockchain and will find the reference that the alias points to, in this case my NXT account 13353072819418237851. You can also point it to a website, an email, etc.