def METHOD_NAME(self, io, variables='all', gather=True, clear=False,
               annotations=None):
    # pylint: disable=protected-access
    Population._check_params(gather, annotations)
    if clear:
        logger.warning("Ignoring clear as supported in this mode")
    if isinstance(io, str):
        io = get_neo_io(io)
    data = self.get_data(variables)
    # write the neo block to the file
    io.write(bl=data)