Not true on Windows 11 home that ships with new hardware. You need to disable all network connections and run some terminal commands to set up a local account. It is not convenient at all. Granted you can easily add a local account, after you have set it up with a Microsoft account, but that sort of defeats the purpose.
Another normal person checking in. Sadly I don’t comment much for all the reasons you mentioned. It is some comfort to know there are a few of us around.