[e2e] Number of persistent connections per HTTP server?

[Spencer Dawkins]

>From the HTTP base spec http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2616.txt, 
I'm reading (in section 8.1.4):

	"Clients that use persistent connections SHOULD 
	limit the number of simultaneous connections 
	that they maintain to a given server. A single-user 
	client SHOULD NOT maintain more than 2 connections 
	with any server or proxy."

My questions are:

- Was anyone on this list involved in picking the number "2"?

- Is this still the right number for today's networks?

I'm looking at two current browsers that open four connections 
to proxies, for instance. Is there research that says "4" is now 
the right number?

Thanks for any clues you can sprinkle on my head!

Spencer