It has only helped me in the second point,having more self control,applying different limits and bankrolls and never helped me so far winning in sport betting,yesterday I lost Union Santa Fe vs Boca Juniors as the game ended 0-0 and all were predicting at least one goal in this game.It is nice though to be an active poster in the gambling section as many new threads pop up usually and people who have absolutely no clue can learn one thing or two from these discussions we all like to take part in.Well may be if I paid more attention to the so called "tipsters" threads I would have won some money but I don't believe much in them.
About what you said about not helping in sports betting, like you, I don't trust in tipsters without context and explanation
In my case, it helps a lot to see other analysis and opinions
It can be very helpful to see the opinion of a user from another country, who has a different view from yours
One example: I'm from South America, and I find it nice to see opinions from Europeans on the Champions League
I'm not talking about simple tips where the user posts that the tip is to bet on X team, but when the user posts why he is betting, why he believes that X team will win etc
Another thing that I think helps a lot: in some threads you find users that have a lot of knowledge about the local league, and that can help you find good bets