Use of underscores

I am learning (very slowly) that using underscores (_) in column names can
be a very bad thing.
 
This really comes to light when I try to graph the data from one of those
pages...
If the data requires an NCV_* entry in xymonserver.cfg, I never get any data
in the server's rrd data folder.
 
Is there a quick way to get around that (I am apparently really fond of
using underscores in names)?
 
-dan