The witch hunt is over. The founders of Socialite Rank were exposed and their joint secret is out of the bag. Unlike the website they authored, Park Avenue Peerage is a not a den of mud-slinging. This isn’t a place to post accusations to destroy reputations. Society can and should stand for something much greater — the active pursuits of beauty, grace, and above all, charity. With Socialite Rank now offline and their founders disgraced, Park Avenue Peerage will continue as it did and post stories to uplift and delight.

There should be no skepticism behind my identity. I really am a freshman at the University of Illinois updating this website from my dorm room. I know that it’s a bit surprising, but you must believe me. I live next to fields of corn and soybeans and my desktop is open with party pictures from Anchor and Marquee. I know.

This website is wholly of my own creation. I am not a figurehead for any triumvirate of social pirates. I’m not a planned public relations ploy to throw anyone off track. I am not Anisha Lakhani’s nephew or second cousin, once removed. (I could show you family charts to prove that one.) I have no secret motives or agendas. There is not a bit of truth to any floating conspiracy theory. I find pictures, I find people, and I write about events and individuals that are relevant to New York society.

Why did I even come out? The writer of the New York piece, Isaiah Wilner, called me and we talked for hours, off the record. Isaiah sounded ethical and his reasons were equally pure: his piece was one that needed writing — a piece that would help clean up the sliming of innocent people. I felt obligated to act.

I’ve had years of self-directed education in international royalty, the English nobility, and New York socials. I’ve studied my history texts. I’ve studied my lookbooks with similar diligence. Creating Park Avenue Peerage was a way for me to share my knowledge.

Various publications have added that some of the “catty commenters” from Socialite Rank immigrated to Park Avenue Peerage but that is not the case at all. The fact of the matter was that Socialite Rank invented perennial characters to use on their comment boards to spread their nastiest rumors. People often call Park Avenue Peerage the “nicer” site because the posts here lack poison. I am simply not in the business of vandalizing lives. I refuse to appeal to the lowest in any of us.

I didn’t say malicious things and I wasn’t under the fear of legal wrangling from any social for my writing. I saw no reason to keep my identity anonymous or private. I am aware that there was intrigue in a mysterious author, but I just didn’t see it. I think it is much more interesting that I am who I am: a chronicler of Manhattan society in the Midwest, who is neither WASP nor an heir of industry. I was additionally aware that my personal path into social chronicling would be valuable to others. There is no need for great wealth or unusual breeding. There is only a need to be true, to stay focused, and to own your work and yourself through and through. I will do just that.