"Constant." You may have me confused with someone else.

There should be more discussion about the discussion, as discussion about the discussion shapes the future.

do i now.. you have more comments in this thread about the discussion than the topic. that is offtopic spam. here's an idea. if you have nothing to say on topic, and want to discuss discussion, start a thread about discussions. crazy that people on a thread about intel want to read intel comments.

No, it might not be the cause but it is usually an indication of decline.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'it'. Are you saying that a discussion of the discussion may not cause a decline a community's culture, but could indicate such a decline?

Yes.