It can depend on the contents of the registry and who depends on that information. For example, with a list of top 100 colleges, readers might use it to decide

It can depend on the contents of the registry and who depends on that information. For example, with a list of top 100 colleges, readers might use it to decide which colleges to go to. And hence, writers would be incentivized to submit their own college to the list. A better, but less mainstream-relatable example is a list of ERC-20 smart contract addresses.