Debian Stable isn’t the only way to run Debian though people often act like it. That said, if you want the stability of Debian Stable then run it with the nix package manager (nix-bin).

Yes just like paying for vpn and/or seedbox to safely torrent.

Annoys me that “modern” in this case means whatever Microsoft does and whatever Microsoft users are used to. Especially since a lot of those “modern” binding have been around since the 80s.

“Modern” has become one of those words that’s way over used to the point of meaninglessness.

You can’t know but I really don’t think this is a problem like you think it is. I can’t think of what the benefit of doing this is. That said, yes an additional copy from an independent source would help. I like to listen to the audiobook while reading the text so it hits two senses. You could try that. Also, you can download from sources where people can and do give feedback.