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.
I love it how this dude is "known to Police" and his "whereabouts have been known for some time" but the bleeding hearts are saying it's not a terrorist act. Righto!!
Give it a rest will you - The name was released in MSM - I doubt us mentioning it here is going to make a huge difference to the media outside her door when they already know her name. I do have ss's of the demands and other hostage names - but I will not post them even though you think we are inadvertently making it harder for the police etc etc. Even though Australia is thought of as being backwards to some, we do have ethics.
Chris Reason (@ChrisReason7)
When the 5 hostages escaped, the gunman could be seen from here getting extremely agitated, shouting at remaining hostages (https://twitter.com/ChrisReason7/status/544410806167678976?s=17)
WHOA. I'm not Australian but my aunt, uncle, and cousin actually spent a few wonderful years living and working in Port Melbourne. I've never had ANY reason to think that Australians are backwards or unethical.
This just doesn't happen in Australia though. I spend my share of time here on the scanner threads occasionally. Those are in the Parking Lot which is only accessible to members. Obviously, that forum tends to deal with events in progress. Several times the police have given a request just like that here in the states, not always for hostages, but recently there was a jailbreak and they didn't want officer positions and movements being put on the internet, even if we could hear them on the scanner. When there is a request like that we always comply, even though it's a members only room.