Well, clubs are often originated (and later locked) in the tavern, but when people are posting no more than "I'll join" and what not, then there is a major risk of club-death. The flamewars often start in the world section, there logic ans reason should be (and often isn't).
But yes, since the tavern is a place for all the stuff that have no other place to be, then it is ofthen there the off topic post are. On the other hand, there is a great amount in this section too, because, as you can see, people cannot let a thread die/stay open, without reporting it to a mod "in case someone spams".
Well, locked can mean a number of things mate. A thread can be locked if it consists mainly of spam, or if the posts have nothing relevant to do with the question asked.
A thread can also be locked if the topic has already been posted before.
