我們身邊總有那么幾個朋友，一年里每隔幾個月就發個信息，問問“你在忙什么？過得怎么樣？”然后就無聲無息了。據說，發送這樣短信的人只是為了與你保持聯絡，讓你知道他們還在，萬一哪天有事兒要你幫忙，也好開口。當然，也有一部分是用這種方式來維護“備胎”關系的。

Maintenance texts are text messages sent to those people you'd like to date "someday" or "eventually" to remind them that you exist and to stay in touch with them without really meeting them. It's a low effort way to maintain a connection without having to really commit to anything serious.
“維護短信”是你給那些可能“改天”或者“找時間”見面的人（其實就是備胎啦）發的短信，這樣既能讓他們知道你這個人還在、與他們保持聯絡，也不用真的去跟他們見面。這是一種保持聯系，又不用做出任何承諾的低成本維護方式。

來看個例子：

Q: "Have you heard from that guy you met in that bar last week?"
上周在酒吧遇到的那個男的跟你聯系了嗎？

A: "Yeah, he's sent me a few maintenance texts tonight, asking where we were but not wanting to meet up. LAME!"
嗯，他今晚給我發了幾條維護短信，問我們在哪兒，但沒說要見面。真沒勁！

說到發短信，就不得不再次提醒大家，千萬不要做texting pedestrian（行走短信族）。

You know him by his hunched-over posture, staring at a blazing screen while weaving down the street. Sometimes his gait slows, sometimes speeds up. He almost runs into a street sign here or trips on a curb there.
頸背前弓，一邊在街道穿行，一邊緊盯著屏幕。凡是這樣姿勢的人，都是行走短信族。他們的步伐偶爾會減緩，有時又會加快。有時會差點撞到路牌，有時又會撞到旁邊的馬路牙子。

看手機發短信的時候，一定要停在路邊相對安全的區域。再緊急的短信，也沒有自己的生命重要。

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen）