diff --git a/llarp/net/sock_addr.cpp b/llarp/net/sock_addr.cpp
index 84ccdc6e1..2832bc9ee 100644
--- a/llarp/net/sock_addr.cpp
+++ b/llarp/net/sock_addr.cpp
@@ -290,7 +290,7 @@ namespace llarp
   }
 
   std::string
-  SockAddr::hostString(bool add_braces) const
+  SockAddr::hostString(bool ipv6_brackets) const
   {
     std::array<char, 128> buf{};
     if (isIPv4())
@@ -301,7 +301,7 @@ namespace llarp
     }
 
     inet_ntop(AF_INET6, &m_addr.sin6_addr.s6_addr, buf.data(), buf.size());
-    if (not add_braces)
+    if (not ipv6_brackets)
       return buf.data();
 
     return fmt::format("[{}]", buf.data());
diff --git a/llarp/net/sock_addr.hpp b/llarp/net/sock_addr.hpp
index 448a8c6d5..cda813e3e 100644
--- a/llarp/net/sock_addr.hpp
+++ b/llarp/net/sock_addr.hpp
@@ -86,8 +86,10 @@ namespace llarp
     std::string
     ToString() const;
 
+    /// convert ip address to string; ipv6_brackets - if true or omitted we add [...] around the
+    /// IPv6 address, otherwise we return it bare.
     std::string
-    hostString(bool add_braces = true) const;
+    hostString(bool ipv6_brackets = true) const;
 
     inline int
     Family() const