> I humbly assert that this process (many Wikipedians, face to face, in a
> pub in London) breaks any modern standards of the selection process
> (e.g. all candidates being asked the same set of questions).

Actually, I think it's fairly standard to do things this way. The
interview-in-a-pub technique is very well known, and it's perfectly
normal to have candidates for senior jobs meet the people they would
be working with before any final decisions are made. I don't see a
problem with merging the two.