def METHOD_NAME(load_user_settings=True):
    default_settings_path = get_default_settings_path()
    user_settings_path = get_user_settings_path()
    if user_settings_path is None or not load_user_settings:
        # no user settings
        return (load_yaml(default_settings_path), 'load the default settings from {}'.format(default_settings_path))
    # user settings
    user_settings = load_yaml(user_settings_path)
    if is_use_default_settings(user_settings):
        # the user settings are merged with the default configuration
        default_settings = load_yaml(default_settings_path)
        update_settings(default_settings, user_settings)
        return (
            default_settings,
            'merge the default settings ( {} ) and the user settings ( {} )'.format(
                default_settings_path, user_settings_path
            ),
        )
    # the user settings, fully replace the default configuration
    return (user_settings, 'load the user settings from {}'.format(user_settings_path))