I don't think anyone disagrees that the raw data should be eventually made public, and preferably sooner rather than later. But initially it's all about the message: you need time to properly analyse the data and release the results responsibly. If you just released the raw data first, how long do you think it'd be before all manner of crackpot headlines popped up? There'd be a race to be the first publication to get something interesting (and likely wildly incorrect) from the data. The fact is, most people aren't qualified to interpret the data.
As for the prestige? That's important too. Not because people care about the prestige in and of itself, but because it enables further scientific research by helping to acquire funding. It's a very principled view to take that scientific research, in theory, should be separate from ego, but in the real world the fact is that reputation matters because not everyone has time to independently verify everything. Ask any practicing scientist and they'll tell you that they're far more willing to trust certain research groups than others, and that's ultimately what the "prestige" is all about.
> The fact is, most people aren't qualified to interpret the data.
All too often, when that is given as an excuse, the people analyzing the data turn out to have made mistakes and the general public does have qualified individuals who can, and will, point out the errors. Alongside this, frequently this raw data is not shared with the reviewers, who should be qualified and should need the data to do a proper review. Unfortunately, this often results in a rubber stamp culture of reviewing rather than thorough peer review to validate the results.
> The fact is, most people aren't qualified to interpret the data.
so what if most people isn't qualified? Data is data, and can be used - even for crackpots who wants to use it. If these crackpots publishes something wrong, i m sure they'd be pointed out and either ignored or shunned by the publisher(s) anyway.
As for the prestige? That's important too. Not because people care about the prestige in and of itself, but because it enables further scientific research by helping to acquire funding. It's a very principled view to take that scientific research, in theory, should be separate from ego, but in the real world the fact is that reputation matters because not everyone has time to independently verify everything. Ask any practicing scientist and they'll tell you that they're far more willing to trust certain research groups than others, and that's ultimately what the "prestige" is all about.