Hahahahahahaha. Indeed!
@leoncowle good grief - even if they don't know *why* it's significant you'd expect someone writing about computery topics to at least have a feel that the number is special and ask a colleague if it's meaningful, even if just because it comes up so often.
@kimvanwyk @leoncowle Oh, I remember this. They "fixed" it after people complained, and somehow made it about ten^H^H^Height times worse: https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/whatsapp-group-chats-bigger-maximum-size-256-people-users-a6856491.html
WhatsApp increases group chat size limit to 256 people | The Independent

Bigger groups are now available to all WhatsApp users on iOS and Android

The Independent
@confluency @kimvanwyk Oh. My. Gawd!!! You're not kidding. Mwahahahahahaha!

@leoncowle @confluency @kimvanwyk

Not sure why you think that this explanation is bad. So why do you take offense with it? One of the groundbreaking early computers used switches after all, image related.

To a lay audience I think the explanation is absolutely fine.

@julijane @leoncowle @confluency @kimvanwyk Yep. Remembering loading the PDP-11 bootstrap loader into core memory by hand through the front-panel switches. Early 1980s.