code: public static UserPreferences getCorePreferences(@CheckForNull IProject project, boolean forceRead) {
          if (project == null || !isProjectSettingsEnabled(project)) {
              // read workspace (user) settings from instance area
              return getWorkspacePreferences();
          }
  
          // use project settings
          return getProjectPreferences(project, forceRead);
      }
docs: Get the FindBugs core preferences for given project. This method can
  return workspace preferences if project preferences are not created yet
  or they are disabled.
  
  @param project
  the project (if null, workspace settings are used)
  @param forceRead
  true to enforce reading properties from disk
  
  @return the preferences for the project or prefs from workspace