I agree margeret. I'm not a mod either and I can't tell anyone what to do. WS generally is pretty generous as to what information it allows once it's been released in the MSM.
However, when the police are asking specifically not to have that information out there we have to assume it's for a good reason. If it was one of our relatives in there we would not want anyone doing anything, even inadvertently, that made it even the slightest bit harder for the police to focus on the task at hand.
I can think of a couple reasons why that might be so. If this terrorist is monitoring the media, as seems to be the case, and one name gets out and starts being displayed everywhere and talked about, and pray for so-and-so FB pages going up, etc. that person may seem like a more valuable target to the terrorist. What if, upon learning the identity of one of the hostages it turns out that she works for the TV station or that he is some big shot banker with lots of money and connections? A guy who is making small time demands could suddenly up the ante.
Beyond that, don't know how it is in Oz, but here, once that name gets out, there will be fifty reporters in front of that person's house and fifty in front of their mother's house, etc, and that could force the police to put resources in those areas for security and traffic control, etc. who even if they are not SWAT or special operations officers might be put to better use elsewhere.
So I suggest, and it's obviously just a suggestion, that we kind of self-censor ourselves regarding any information the police have specifically requested not be publicized.
love and thoughts to all involved inc police etc <3
