def _starts_with_space(line, return_on_blank=True):
    """
    returns true if line starts with space

    :line:                  the line to be examined
    :return_on_blank:       what to return if line == ""
    :returns:               True if starts with space, False else
    """
    try: return line[0] == ' '
    except IndexError: return return_on_blank