Recovery Screen "LOCK" status

[gmermel]

My phone came as "status UNLOCKED" from Moto. It activated on VZW seamlessly. A week or so later, I went through the recovery screen to empty my cache, and noted that the status had changed to "LOCKED".

I have not unlocked my bootloader or rooted. I had presumed that VZW locked my phone upon connecting to their network. Others have commented that their phone remains UNLOCKED despite having service with VZW.

Anyone have thoughts about how my phone locked itself? Also, does the recovery screen LOCK status refer to the bootloader being locked, or the phone being locked to the carrier?