# What's the dope on Social Registers?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dope-on-social-registers/267754>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 5, 2004, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dope-on-social-registers/267754 "2004-10-05T23:06:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dope-on-social-registers/267754/1 "2004-10-05T23:06:19Z")

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A drunken and distant friend recently boasted to another person at a party that he was listed on the Social Register up in Washington, D.C. His comment provoked a mixture of blank looks and feigned yawns.

Then as now, I really don’t know much about Social Registers. How many cities have them? Only larger ones? How does one get listed–what are the general criteria? What purpose do they serve, other than snob appeal?

Discuss.

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**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dope-on-social-registers/267754/2 "2004-10-05T23:41:35Z")

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[Wikpedia.org](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Register) is your friend. IMHO they appear to be self-delcared groups of snobs.

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**Author:** ![Lagged2Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ac8455/32.png) [@Lagged2Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lagged2Death)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dope-on-social-registers/267754/3 "2004-10-05T23:58:13Z")

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Our Fearless Leader has also [held forth on this subject.](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_032.html)

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**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-dope-on-social-registers/267754/4 "2004-10-06T00:49:34Z")

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**AKA a Mutual Admiration Society**