I did NOT ignore the message. The question was if Atmo will work without a hardmod. The answer is YES.
It is just wrong to call shartening some pins a hardware MODIFICATION, because the hardware is obviously not MODIFIED
Futzing with that dinky-as-hell, and inconveniently tucked away rail connector, with its super delicate ZIF contact pads that are less than 1mm wide on each land, is a real PITA. Trust me, it was the most time consuming part of my switch mod day. (No, dumping the nand did not take as long as cobbling together a safe but still ghetto as hell jig.) After dumping the nand, the very next thing I did was install autoRCM, because fuck that shit. That's how ZIF contacts get broken.
Now, that out of the way--- You still need something to tether to to inject the IPL, due to the locked boot loader code check. Your options list is pretty short: PC, Mac, Cellphone, Embedded Linux Dongle, or Microcontroller.
The last one is handy, because they are small and fast, and can be built up inside the case pretty cheaply. COTS parts can be used. (Thank's Adafruit! I know it is not what you intend those for, but those are quality merch, and I DO appreciate quality.) That most definitely IS a hardware mod.
When most people think "Softmod", they think "Oh, I dont have to dick around with the hardare at all." Much like we did with the Wii and the Wii-U, (and also the PSP, and the 3DS.) For the switch, we need something to inject an IPL using a stack smash exploit in the Tegra's USB stack. This means fiddling with teeny tiny ZIF connectors, and plugging in 'something' into the USB port.