the fact that its THERE though. at the very front. accomplishes the same function
No, it doesn't. It will ruin vanity generators ("NJOHN-1234" instead of "NXT-JOHN-1234") and it will look like part of a random string in all other cases:
NFKJ4-FSE5-56SF-FSJR6V
N9G7J-G2JK-L6O9-7DR7VK
I dont particularly care for the N prefix AT ALL. but if we absolutely MUST then please just make it part of the address, with no dash. it removes the balance of the address.
We don't have to. The prefix is optional, thus it can be "NXT-". If you prefer short addresses you just don't add it at all. Probably will be an option in clients.
I think an optional prefix "NXT-" is a little redundant/pointless. The point of "branding" to my mind is not so that someone sees "NXT" in an address and wonders what "NXT" is. It's for current users, I don't think it matters that the "N" looks part of a random address string, because by the time you've sent NXT 5 times you will figure out that all NXT addresses start with "N". What this accomplishes is that people who become familiar with NXT will tend to recognize a NXT address when they see one.
That said, it seems people are more comfortable leaving it off, which is fine, maybe for the best.
I think at some point it's best if a new address format gets integrated more than just at the client level.