Lost in BBM Translation

A situation that occurs over Blackberry Messenger (BBM) whereby either tone, sarcasm, inflection, humor, or facial expressions are not captured by the receiver of the message thus leading to a misunderstanding between both parties; this is often followed up by further lengthy drawn-out attempts by both parties to try to explain themselves over BBM; often, their explanations are in turn lost in translation. This phenomenon is a contemporary cause of the demise of many friendships and relationships...and of course an actual phone conversation to rectify the situation is out of the question.

Guy: So I was at the club till about 5am...I hooked up with a girl at my place till 7am...kicked her out by 8am...took a quick French shower...and was at work handling my client's conference call by 9am!

Girl: Wow, you're hot!

Guy: Thanks! I thought you might appreciate my ability to both party and work hard!

Girl: Ummm...no, I was being sarcastic. Your loose sexual behavior and cursory hygiene are quite off-putting. You are the very definition of a douche!

Guy: Well then, I guess your sheer hatred and jealousy of me were lost in BBM translation.

Lost in BBM Translation by VitruvianMan January 29, 2010

Lost in BBM Translation

When a BBM can be misinterpreted for reasons being but not limited to: one of the words used has multiple meanings, verbal inflection and affect is often absent over BBM, possible misuse of an emoticon or exclamation mark, or because of incorrect capitalization of a word. It happens when you're bbming with someone and realize that what you wrote was interpreted to mean the exact opposite of what you are trying to convey after the person responds in an unforseen tone. It can often lead to finding something funnier or more serious than the message should be or can possibly result in crazy frustration.

Girl 1 told Vman that he did the right thing by choosing to pursue things with girl 2 instead of her. However, girl 1 meant "right" to mean rational/more moral, but not to mean correct/more suitable, because she knows that she is so much better for him, more compatible, more amazing, and his true love. Girl 1 realized that what she meant was lost in BBM Translation after Vman responded in a displeased tone and thought what she wrote meant that she was already over him.

Lost in BBM Translation by Hot Mona Lisa January 29, 2010