Skip all version checks with autoconf?

[Jeffrey Walton]

I'm catching this error on Fedora 28, x86_64, fully patched:

$ autoreconf -fi
configure.ac:35: error: require Automake 1.16.1, but have 1.15.1
autoreconf: automake failed with exit status: 1

This is a chronic problem with Autotools. Nearly every program that
gets patched has a problem like this. I no longer want to perform
version checks. I waste too much time dicking around with the problems
they cause.

I'm happy to take a break later in the process. I think I have more
hope of fixing the actual problem if it is encountered.

How do I skip all version checks?

Jeff