Content
All content in the Marketplace should be as consistent as possible so that customers and visitors have an optimal experience. That is why we have summarized some guidelines on this page.
The guidelines are recommendations. We do not adapt the content of our partner companies without consultation, but only make suggestions for possible adjustments.
General writing rules
- Form of address: Address readers formally (German "Sie", French "vous").
- Swiss spelling: In German, use "ss" instead of "ß" (e.g. "Strasse", "gemäss").
- Brand names such as Allthings, Cockpit, Compass, Connect, Marketplace and Insights remain unchanged in all languages.
- Refer to people who live in a property as residents (German "Bewohnende", French "résident·e·s").
Gender Guidelines
English
English is largely gender-neutral. Use the possibilities of the language to make texts as inclusive as possible:
- Use the plural or the singular "they/their" instead of "he/she", "his/her" or "him/her".
(e.g. A resident wants to log in to his app → Residents want to log in to their app) - Avoid possessive pronouns.
(A resident wants to log in to his app → A resident wants to log in to the app) - Rephrase sentences and use "you".
(If he wants to log in to the app … → If you want to log in to the app …)
German
- Do not use the generic masculine; use instead:
- gender-neutral forms (die Bewohnenden, die Mietenden),
- gender-abstract forms (die Mietpartei, die Kundschaft),
- paired forms (Bewohnerinnen und Bewohner) if this helps readability.
- Avoid special characters such as asterisks, colons or underscores (i.e. not "Mieter*innen").
- Do not use the feminine alone when you mean all genders. There is no generic feminine in German, and readers do not understand it as such.
- Pay attention to readability. Avoid gender-abstract or gender-neutral forms if they make the text hard to understand.
French
- Use the middle dot for gender-inclusive forms (e.g. résident·e·s, utilisateur·rice·s).
- Prefer neutral collective terms (e.g. l'équipe, la gérance).