A bit OT: Only if you can return the licence in return for payback. I did this (checks wiki entry...) 16 years ago [1] with a server which came with a Windows Home Server licence. It was not so much about the actual licence costs - I got about $68/€48 after having sent in all licence details/stickers/labels/etc - but about sending the message that I did not want to be forced to use Windows (the hardware was not available without the licence).

That server did its job for about 10 years with a few upgrades - more drives and a faster CPU - and really only needed replacement because of the low max memory limit. Its successor ended up being a DL380 G7 which is still in use, the Scaleo Home Server annex Intel SS4200 now waits in the barn for potential re-use as a backup server.

[1] http://ss4200.pbworks.com/w/page/5122767/Windows%20refund%20...

Do you really think Windows 11 doesn't try to control the user, or say no to them?

Are you sure you can't think of a commonly used operating system which doesn't?

Name ends with "ux", or maybe "BSD"?