I used to do that until about 2015.

Even private trackers don’t come close to the coverage of newsgroups. Plus, nzb has the concept of releases, so you don’t have to guess at the quality.

I don’t have an issue with paying, I have an issue with paying for something I don’t want.

Indexers and downloaders are distinct for newsgroups.

Public indexers are not good for Linux isos, you need a paid service now. They’re cheap and well worth it. Easynews and nzbgeek are good ones.