Who said anything about confirmation or fees?
Obviously people not upgrading would not want their coin transvestites by whatever some random dev manages to push down the Protocol's throat.

You know mined coins have a higher value than what the shady - for 'teh mass' - exchanges might offer?
Honeybadger, never sleeps. At some point, unused or unforked coins will worth much more, just the same as gold's 'purity' carats.
Except not backward compatible.