dict.get(key, default) only returns default when key is ABSENT.
When YAML has 'key:' with no value, it parses as None — .get()
returns None, then .strip() crashes with AttributeError.
Use (x or '') pattern to handle both missing and null cases.
Salvaged from PR #3217.
Co-authored-by: erosika <erosika@users.noreply.github.com>