Christian Moe <[email protected]> writes:

>> So, I am thinking about something more intuitive like
>> - :strip-colnames
>> - :detach-colnames
>
> I agree that the =:colnames <yes|no|nil>= header is confusing, but one
> can just about get it by reading the passage from the manual carefully.
> Possibly the manual could be made clearer yet with your formulations.

Well. I did read the manual carefully. Yet, I keep being confused by
this option over and over.

> It seems to me that the names ':strip-colnames' and ':detach-colnames'
> are also potentially misleading, because they only explicitly state that
> column names will be removed, not that they will be re-attached. If
> we're looking for a header name that makes more intuitive sense of the
> 'yes' and 'no' values, I'd maybe propose ':has-colnames'.

:has-colnames sounds good.

> But I'm not sure any slight gains in clarity justify a breaking change
> in the header name (and presumably in the ':rownames' header name as
> well).

I do not intend to make any breaking changes.
If we rename this header argument, the process will be the following:

1. Leave the existing :colnames handling in the code
2. Add :has-colnames as an alias, handled identically with :colnames
3. Replace :colnames with :has-colnames in the documentation

That way, old :colnames will still work for people. The clearer
alternative will be encouraged in the documentation, so that people can
slowly migrate (or not).

>> The allowed values should also be yes, no, and 'auto (previously nil). 
>
> Would that still default to 'auto in the absence of any colnames header?

Sure.

-- 
Ihor Radchenko // yantar92,
Org mode maintainer,
Learn more about Org mode at <https://orgmode.org/>.
Support Org development at <https://liberapay.com/org-mode>,
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