I think the major reason from the content perspective of answeree is sharing knowledge. Asides from the fact that both parties, the site owners and we the users, share the same goal of making money via working on the site, answeree is also a dedicated site for given meaningful and reasonable answers to relevant subjects which our lives revolve around them. I don't know about others, but most questions i've come across are on topics that affects our individual thoughts, perceptions and ideas, even though some questions are often below standards. This is the reason why I try as much as possible to ask question which will in some ways add an important note to answeree with regards to references.
To answer your question, i will say yes, discussions on answeree have made some positive changes in the way I think and perceive certain topics which i've come across. In other words, i've learnt a lot on answeree just by answering questions and reading through other people's thoughts on the said subjects.