diff --git a/plugins/Aka/plugin.py b/plugins/Aka/plugin.py
index aa4335ad5..8d5ec8ba8 100644
--- a/plugins/Aka/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/Aka/plugin.py
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ import supybot.utils as utils
 import supybot.ircdb as ircdb
 from supybot.commands import *
 import supybot.plugins as plugins
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
 import supybot.callbacks as callbacks
 from supybot.i18n import PluginInternationalization
@@ -106,7 +107,7 @@ if sqlite3:
 
         def has_aka(self, channel, name):
             name = callbacks.canonicalName(name, preserve_spaces=True)
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(name, str):
+            if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(name, str):
                 name = name.decode('utf8')
             db = self.get_db(channel)
             return self.get_db(channel).cursor() \
@@ -122,7 +123,7 @@ if sqlite3:
 
         def get_alias(self, channel, name):
             name = callbacks.canonicalName(name, preserve_spaces=True)
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(name, str):
+            if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(name, str):
                 name = name.decode('utf8')
             cursor = self.get_db(channel).cursor()
             cursor.execute("""SELECT alias FROM aliases
@@ -137,7 +138,7 @@ if sqlite3:
             name = callbacks.canonicalName(name, preserve_spaces=True)
             if self.has_aka(channel, name):
                 raise AkaError(_('This Aka already exists.'))
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+            if minisix.PY2:
                 if isinstance(name, str):
                     name = name.decode('utf8')
                 if isinstance(alias, str):
@@ -150,7 +151,7 @@ if sqlite3:
 
         def remove_aka(self, channel, name):
             name = callbacks.canonicalName(name, preserve_spaces=True)
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(name, str):
+            if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(name, str):
                 name = name.decode('utf8')
             db = self.get_db(channel)
             db.cursor().execute('DELETE FROM aliases WHERE name = ?', (name,))
@@ -158,7 +159,7 @@ if sqlite3:
 
         def lock_aka(self, channel, name, by):
             name = callbacks.canonicalName(name, preserve_spaces=True)
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(name, str):
+            if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(name, str):
                 name = name.decode('utf8')
             db = self.get_db(channel)
             cursor = db.cursor().execute("""UPDATE aliases
@@ -170,7 +171,7 @@ if sqlite3:
 
         def unlock_aka(self, channel, name, by):
             name = callbacks.canonicalName(name, preserve_spaces=True)
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(name, str):
+            if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(name, str):
                 name = name.decode('utf8')
             db = self.get_db(channel)
             cursor = db.cursor()
@@ -182,7 +183,7 @@ if sqlite3:
 
         def get_aka_lock(self, channel, name):
             name = callbacks.canonicalName(name, preserve_spaces=True)
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(name, str):
+            if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(name, str):
                 name = name.decode('utf8')
             cursor = self.get_db(channel).cursor()
             cursor.execute("""SELECT locked, locked_by, locked_at
@@ -237,7 +238,7 @@ elif sqlalchemy:
 
         def has_aka(self, channel, name):
             name = callbacks.canonicalName(name, preserve_spaces=True)
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(name, str):
+            if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(name, str):
                 name = name.decode('utf8')
             count = self.get_db(channel).query(SQLAlchemyAlias) \
                     .filter(SQLAlchemyAlias.name == name) \
@@ -249,7 +250,7 @@ elif sqlalchemy:
 
         def get_alias(self, channel, name):
             name = callbacks.canonicalName(name, preserve_spaces=True)
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(name, str):
+            if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(name, str):
                 name = name.decode('utf8')
             try:
                 return self.get_db(channel).query(SQLAlchemyAlias.alias) \
@@ -261,7 +262,7 @@ elif sqlalchemy:
             name = callbacks.canonicalName(name, preserve_spaces=True)
             if self.has_aka(channel, name):
                 raise AkaError(_('This Aka already exists.'))
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+            if minisix.PY2:
                 if isinstance(name, str):
                     name = name.decode('utf8')
                 if isinstance(alias, str):
@@ -272,7 +273,7 @@ elif sqlalchemy:
 
         def remove_aka(self, channel, name):
             name = callbacks.canonicalName(name, preserve_spaces=True)
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(name, str):
+            if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(name, str):
                 name = name.decode('utf8')
             db = self.get_db(channel)
             db.query(SQLAlchemyAlias).filter(SQLAlchemyAlias.name == name).delete()
@@ -280,7 +281,7 @@ elif sqlalchemy:
 
         def lock_aka(self, channel, name, by):
             name = callbacks.canonicalName(name, preserve_spaces=True)
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(name, str):
+            if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(name, str):
                 name = name.decode('utf8')
             db = self.get_db(channel)
             try:
@@ -297,7 +298,7 @@ elif sqlalchemy:
 
         def unlock_aka(self, channel, name, by):
             name = callbacks.canonicalName(name, preserve_spaces=True)
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(name, str):
+            if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(name, str):
                 name = name.decode('utf8')
             db = self.get_db(channel)
             try:
@@ -314,7 +315,7 @@ elif sqlalchemy:
 
         def get_aka_lock(self, channel, name):
             name = callbacks.canonicalName(name, preserve_spaces=True)
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(name, str):
+            if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(name, str):
                 name = name.decode('utf8')
             try:
                 return self.get_db(channel) \
@@ -387,7 +388,7 @@ class Aka(callbacks.Plugin):
             for cb in dynamic.irc.callbacks: # including this plugin
                 if cb.isCommandMethod(' '.join(args[0:-1])):
                     return False
-        if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(name, str):
+        if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(name, str):
             name = name.decode('utf8')
         channel = dynamic.channel or 'global'
         return self._db.has_aka(channel, name) or \
diff --git a/plugins/Alias/plugin.py b/plugins/Alias/plugin.py
index 8ddc2b59b..c4cd5663f 100644
--- a/plugins/Alias/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/Alias/plugin.py
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ import types
 import supybot.conf as conf
 import supybot.utils as utils
 from supybot.commands import *
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
 import supybot.registry as registry
 import supybot.callbacks as callbacks
@@ -223,7 +224,7 @@ def makeNewAlias(name, alias):
         doc = format(_('<an alias,%s %n>\n\nAlias for %q.'),
                     flexargs, (biggestDollar, _('argument')), alias)
     except UnicodeDecodeError:
-        if sys.version_info[0] == 2:
+        if minisix.PY2:
             alias = alias.decode('utf8')
         doc = format(_('<an alias,%s %n>\n\nAlias for %q.'),
                     flexargs, (biggestDollar, _('argument')), alias)
diff --git a/plugins/ChannelLogger/plugin.py b/plugins/ChannelLogger/plugin.py
index 897e5d68a..e991d86ef 100644
--- a/plugins/ChannelLogger/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/ChannelLogger/plugin.py
@@ -31,14 +31,13 @@
 import os
 import sys
 import time
-if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
-    from io import open
 from cStringIO import StringIO
 
 import supybot.conf as conf
 import supybot.world as world
 import supybot.ircdb as ircdb
 import supybot.irclib as irclib
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.ircmsgs as ircmsgs
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
 import supybot.registry as registry
@@ -46,6 +45,9 @@ import supybot.callbacks as callbacks
 from supybot.i18n import PluginInternationalization, internationalizeDocstring
 _ = PluginInternationalization('ChannelLogger')
 
+if minisix.PY2:
+    from io import open
+
 class FakeLog(object):
     def flush(self):
         return
@@ -164,7 +166,7 @@ class ChannelLogger(callbacks.Plugin):
         format = conf.supybot.log.timestampFormat()
         if format:
             string = time.strftime(format) + '  '
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+            if minisix.PY2:
                 string = string.decode('utf8', 'ignore')
             log.write(string)
 
@@ -181,7 +183,7 @@ class ChannelLogger(callbacks.Plugin):
             self.timestamp(log)
         if self.registryValue('stripFormatting', channel):
             s = ircutils.stripFormatting(s)
-        if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+        if minisix.PY2:
             s = s.decode('utf8', 'ignore')
         log.write(s)
         if self.registryValue('flushImmediately'):
diff --git a/plugins/Factoids/plugin.py b/plugins/Factoids/plugin.py
index f01c3b95d..1ca165763 100644
--- a/plugins/Factoids/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/Factoids/plugin.py
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ import supybot.ircdb as ircdb
 import supybot.utils as utils
 from supybot.commands import *
 import supybot.plugins as plugins
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
 import supybot.callbacks as callbacks
 import supybot.httpserver as httpserver
@@ -219,11 +220,11 @@ class Factoids(callbacks.Plugin, plugins.ChannelDBHandler):
     def makeDb(self, filename):
         if os.path.exists(filename):
             db = sqlite3.connect(filename)
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+            if minisix.PY2:
                 db.text_factory = str
             return db
         db = sqlite3.connect(filename)
-        if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+        if minisix.PY2:
             db.text_factory = str
         cursor = db.cursor()
         cursor.execute("""CREATE TABLE keys (
diff --git a/plugins/Filter/plugin.py b/plugins/Filter/plugin.py
index 4cdd0fa27..751a70e4e 100644
--- a/plugins/Filter/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/Filter/plugin.py
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ from cStringIO import StringIO
 import supybot.conf as conf
 import supybot.utils as utils
 from supybot.commands import *
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.ircmsgs as ircmsgs
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
 import supybot.callbacks as callbacks
@@ -146,7 +147,7 @@ class Filter(callbacks.Plugin):
         Returns the binary representation of <text>.
         """
         L = []
-        if sys.version_info[0] >= 3:
+        if minisix.PY3:
             if isinstance(text, str):
                 bytes_ = text.encode()
             else:
@@ -221,7 +222,7 @@ class Filter(callbacks.Plugin):
         commonly used for text that simply needs to be hidden from inadvertent
         reading by roaming eyes, since it's easily reversible.
         """
-        if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+        if minisix.PY2:
             text = text.decode('utf8')
         irc.reply(self._rot13_encoder(text)[0])
     rot13 = wrap(rot13, ['text'])
@@ -398,12 +399,12 @@ class Filter(callbacks.Plugin):
 
         Returns <text> colorized like a rainbow.
         """
-        if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+        if minisix.PY2:
             text = text.decode('utf-8')
         colors = utils.iter.cycle(['05', '04', '07', '08', '09', '03', '11',
                                    '10', '12', '02', '06', '13'])
         L = [self._color(c, fg=next(colors)) for c in text]
-        if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+        if minisix.PY2:
             L = [c.encode('utf-8') for c in L]
         irc.reply(''.join(L) + '\x03')
     rainbow = wrap(rainbow, ['text'])
diff --git a/plugins/GPG/plugin.py b/plugins/GPG/plugin.py
index 49c6e5603..b4ea2f962 100644
--- a/plugins/GPG/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/GPG/plugin.py
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ import supybot.conf as conf
 import supybot.utils as utils
 import supybot.ircdb as ircdb
 from supybot.commands import *
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.plugins as plugins
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
 import supybot.callbacks as callbacks
@@ -147,7 +148,7 @@ class GPG(callbacks.Plugin):
             the key used is associated to a user."""
             self._expire_tokens()
             content = utils.web.getUrl(url)
-            if sys.version_info[0] >= 3 and isinstance(content, bytes):
+            if minisix.PY3 and isinstance(content, bytes):
                 content = content.decode()
             match = self._auth_re.search(content)
             if not match:
diff --git a/plugins/Google/plugin.py b/plugins/Google/plugin.py
index d77242313..cc64edcfc 100644
--- a/plugins/Google/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/Google/plugin.py
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ import supybot.conf as conf
 import supybot.utils as utils
 import supybot.world as world
 from supybot.commands import *
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.ircmsgs as ircmsgs
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
 import supybot.callbacks as callbacks
@@ -136,7 +137,7 @@ class Google(callbacks.PluginRegexp):
             title = utils.web.htmlToText(result['titleNoFormatting']\
                                          .encode('utf-8'))
             url = result['unescapedUrl']
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+            if minisix.PY2:
                 url = url.encode('utf-8')
             if title:
                 if bold:
@@ -144,7 +145,7 @@ class Google(callbacks.PluginRegexp):
                 results.append(format('%s: %u', title, url))
             else:
                 results.append(url)
-        if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+        if minisix.PY2:
             repl = lambda x:x if isinstance(x, unicode) else unicode(x, 'utf8')
             results = list(map(repl, results))
         if not results:
diff --git a/plugins/Karma/plugin.py b/plugins/Karma/plugin.py
index 7dcf611f9..3b5e704a6 100644
--- a/plugins/Karma/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/Karma/plugin.py
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ import csv
 import supybot.conf as conf
 import supybot.utils as utils
 from supybot.commands import *
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.plugins as plugins
 import supybot.ircmsgs as ircmsgs
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
@@ -59,12 +60,12 @@ class SqliteKarmaDB(object):
             return self.dbs[filename]
         if os.path.exists(filename):
             db = sqlite3.connect(filename, check_same_thread=False)
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+            if minisix.PY2:
                 db.text_factory = str
             self.dbs[filename] = db
             return db
         db = sqlite3.connect(filename, check_same_thread=False)
-        if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+        if minisix.PY2:
             db.text_factory = str
         self.dbs[filename] = db
         cursor = db.cursor()
diff --git a/plugins/Math/test.py b/plugins/Math/test.py
index a19491f7d..4ea7f61f1 100644
--- a/plugins/Math/test.py
+++ b/plugins/Math/test.py
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ class MathTestCase(PluginTestCase):
         self.assertResponse('calc 5*0.06', str(5*0.06))
         self.assertResponse('calc 2.0-7.0', str(2-7))
         self.assertResponse('calc e**(i*pi)+1', '0')
-        if sys.version_info[0] >= 3:
+        if minisix.PY3:
             # Python 2 has bad handling of exponentiation of negative numbers
             self.assertResponse('calc (-1)**.5', 'i')
             self.assertRegexp('calc (-5)**.5', '2.236067977[0-9]+i')
diff --git a/plugins/MessageParser/plugin.py b/plugins/MessageParser/plugin.py
index ef51f234e..b7668d773 100644
--- a/plugins/MessageParser/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/MessageParser/plugin.py
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
 
 import supybot.utils as utils
 from supybot.commands import *
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.plugins as plugins
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
 import supybot.callbacks as callbacks
@@ -81,11 +82,11 @@ class MessageParser(callbacks.Plugin, plugins.ChannelDBHandler):
         """Create the database and connect to it."""
         if os.path.exists(filename):
             db = sqlite3.connect(filename)
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+            if minisix.PY2:
                 db.text_factory = str
             return db
         db = sqlite3.connect(filename)
-        if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+        if minisix.PY2:
             db.text_factory = str
         cursor = db.cursor()
         cursor.execute("""CREATE TABLE triggers (
diff --git a/plugins/Misc/plugin.py b/plugins/Misc/plugin.py
index b36cf408a..8c575e113 100644
--- a/plugins/Misc/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/Misc/plugin.py
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ import supybot.utils as utils
 from supybot.commands import *
 import supybot.ircdb as ircdb
 import supybot.irclib as irclib
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.ircmsgs as ircmsgs
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
 import supybot.callbacks as callbacks
@@ -53,7 +54,7 @@ from supybot import commands
 from supybot.i18n import PluginInternationalization, internationalizeDocstring
 _ = PluginInternationalization('Misc')
 
-if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+if minisix.PY2:
     from itertools import ifilter as filter
 
 def get_suffix(file):
@@ -336,7 +337,7 @@ class Misc(callbacks.Plugin):
                 version = data['commit']['committer']['date']
                 # Strip the last 'Z':
                 version = version.rsplit('T', 1)[0].replace('-', '.')
-                if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(version, unicode):
+                if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(version, unicode):
                     version = version.encode('utf8')
                 versions[branch] = version
             newest = _('The newest versions available online are %s.') % \
diff --git a/plugins/MoobotFactoids/plugin.py b/plugins/MoobotFactoids/plugin.py
index b38359f36..303edb72b 100755
--- a/plugins/MoobotFactoids/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/MoobotFactoids/plugin.py
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ import supybot.ircdb as ircdb
 import supybot.utils as utils
 import supybot.shlex as shlex
 from supybot.commands import *
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.plugins as plugins
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
 import supybot.callbacks as callbacks
@@ -107,12 +108,12 @@ class SqliteMoobotDB(object):
         
         if os.path.exists(filename):
             db = sqlite3.connect(filename, check_same_thread=False)
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+            if minisix.PY2:
                 db.text_factory = str
             self.dbs[channel] = db
             return db
         db = sqlite3.connect(filename, check_same_thread=False)
-        if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+        if minisix.PY2:
             db.text_factory = str
         self.dbs[channel] = db
         cursor = db.cursor()
diff --git a/plugins/Owner/plugin.py b/plugins/Owner/plugin.py
index 20cc205ee..0f1bd1122 100644
--- a/plugins/Owner/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/Owner/plugin.py
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ from supybot.commands import *
 import supybot.irclib as irclib
 import supybot.plugin as plugin
 import supybot.plugins as plugins
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.drivers as drivers
 import supybot.ircmsgs as ircmsgs
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
@@ -398,7 +399,7 @@ class Owner(callbacks.Plugin):
             L.append(format('linecache line cache flushed: %n cleared.',
                             (len(linecache.cache), 'line')))
             linecache.clearcache()
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+            if minisix.PY2:
                 sys.exc_clear()
         collected = world.upkeep()
         if gc.garbage:
diff --git a/plugins/PluginDownloader/plugin.py b/plugins/PluginDownloader/plugin.py
index 50abf660b..3739c368a 100644
--- a/plugins/PluginDownloader/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/PluginDownloader/plugin.py
@@ -37,17 +37,18 @@ import urllib
 import tarfile
 from cStringIO import StringIO
 
-BytesIO = StringIO if sys.version_info[0] < 3 else io.BytesIO
-
 import supybot.log as log
 import supybot.conf as conf
 import supybot.utils as utils
 from supybot.commands import *
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.plugins as plugins
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
 import supybot.callbacks as callbacks
 from supybot.i18n import PluginInternationalization, internationalizeDocstring
 
+BytesIO = StringIO if minisix.PY2 else io.BytesIO
+
 _ = PluginInternationalization('PluginDownloader')
 
 class Repository:
@@ -104,7 +105,7 @@ class GithubRepository(GitRepository):
     def _download(self, plugin):
         try:
             response = utils.web.getUrlFd(self._downloadUrl)
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+            if minisix.PY2:
                 assert response.getcode() == 200, response.getcode()
             else:
                 assert response.status == 200, response.status
@@ -127,7 +128,7 @@ class GithubRepository(GitRepository):
             assert archive.getmember(prefix + dirname).isdir(), \
                 'This is not a valid plugin (it is a file, not a directory).'
 
-            run_2to3 = sys.version_info[0] >= 3
+            run_2to3 = minisix.PY3
             for file in archive.getmembers():
                 if file.name.startswith(prefix + dirname):
                     extractedFile = archive.extractfile(file)
@@ -144,7 +145,7 @@ class GithubRepository(GitRepository):
                         with open(newFileName, 'ab') as fd:
                             reload_imported = False
                             for line in extractedFile.readlines():
-                                if sys.version_info[0] >= 3:
+                                if minisix.PY3:
                                     if 'import reload' in line.decode():
                                         reload_imported = True
                                     elif not reload_imported and \
@@ -188,7 +189,7 @@ class GithubRepository(GitRepository):
             if file.name.startswith(prefix + dirname + '/README'):
                 extractedFile = archive.extractfile(file)
                 content = extractedFile.read()
-                if sys.version_info[0] >= 3:
+                if minisix.PY3:
                     content = content.decode()
                 return content
 
diff --git a/plugins/PluginDownloader/test.py b/plugins/PluginDownloader/test.py
index 7770e515e..a0353013f 100644
--- a/plugins/PluginDownloader/test.py
+++ b/plugins/PluginDownloader/test.py
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ import sys
 import shutil
 
 from supybot.test import *
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 
 pluginsPath = '%s/test-plugins' % os.getcwd()
 
@@ -98,7 +99,7 @@ class PluginDownloaderTestCase(PluginTestCase):
                 'Advanced Twitter plugin for Supybot, with capabilities '
                 'handling, and per-channel user account.')
 
-    if sys.version_info[0] >= 3:
+    if minisix.PY3:
         def test_2to3(self):
             self.assertRegexp('plugindownloader install SpiderDave Pastebin',
                     'convert')
diff --git a/plugins/QuoteGrabs/plugin.py b/plugins/QuoteGrabs/plugin.py
index 4de6da4dd..389fda95d 100644
--- a/plugins/QuoteGrabs/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/QuoteGrabs/plugin.py
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ import supybot.dbi as dbi
 import supybot.conf as conf
 import supybot.utils as utils
 from supybot.commands import *
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.ircmsgs as ircmsgs
 import supybot.plugins as plugins
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
@@ -86,13 +87,13 @@ class SqliteQuoteGrabsDB(object):
             return self.dbs[filename]
         if os.path.exists(filename):
             db = sqlite3.connect(filename)
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+            if minisix.PY2:
                 db.text_factory = str
             db.create_function('nickeq', 2, p)
             self.dbs[filename] = db
             return db
         db = sqlite3.connect(filename)
-        if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+        if minisix.PY2:
             db.text_factory = str
         db.create_function('nickeq', 2, p)
         self.dbs[filename] = db
diff --git a/plugins/RSS/plugin.py b/plugins/RSS/plugin.py
index 9b47c2873..f406fb3f4 100644
--- a/plugins/RSS/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/RSS/plugin.py
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ import supybot.conf as conf
 import supybot.utils as utils
 import supybot.world as world
 from supybot.commands import *
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.ircmsgs as ircmsgs
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
 import supybot.registry as registry
diff --git a/plugins/RSS/test.py b/plugins/RSS/test.py
index f825f74bf..053d885b2 100644
--- a/plugins/RSS/test.py
+++ b/plugins/RSS/test.py
@@ -32,7 +32,8 @@ import sys
 import feedparser
 from supybot.test import *
 import supybot.conf as conf
-if sys.version_info[0] >= 3:
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
+if minisix.PY3:
     from io import BytesIO
 else:
     from cStringIO import StringIO as BytesIO
@@ -47,7 +48,7 @@ xkcd_new = """<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
 
 
 def constant(content):
-    if sys.version_info[0] >= 3:
+    if minisix.PY3:
         content = content.encode()
     def f(*args, **kwargs):
         return BytesIO(content)
diff --git a/plugins/Seen/plugin.py b/plugins/Seen/plugin.py
index da762b728..c380909e4 100644
--- a/plugins/Seen/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/Seen/plugin.py
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ import supybot.world as world
 import supybot.ircdb as ircdb
 from supybot.commands import *
 import supybot.irclib as irclib
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.ircmsgs as ircmsgs
 import supybot.plugins as plugins
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
@@ -209,7 +210,7 @@ class Seen(callbacks.Plugin):
                                  nick, channel,
                                  utils.timeElapsed(time.time()-when))
                 if self.registryValue('showLastMessage', channel):
-                    if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+                    if minisix.PY2:
                         said = said.decode('utf8')
                     reply = _('%s: %s') % (reply, said)
                 irc.reply(reply)
diff --git a/plugins/String/plugin.py b/plugins/String/plugin.py
index adcc77e00..75eed6101 100644
--- a/plugins/String/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/String/plugin.py
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ import binascii
 
 import supybot.utils as utils
 from supybot.commands import *
-import supybot.commands as commands
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.plugins as plugins
 import supybot.commands as commands
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
@@ -96,9 +96,9 @@ class String(callbacks.Plugin):
             text = codecs.getencoder('base64_codec')(text)[0].decode()
 
         # Change result into a string
-        if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(text, unicode):
+        if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(text, unicode):
             text = text.encode('utf-8')
-        elif sys.version_info[0] >= 3 and isinstance(text, bytes):
+        elif minisix.PY3 and isinstance(text, bytes):
             text = text.decode()
 
         if encoding in ('base64', 'base64_codec'):
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ class String(callbacks.Plugin):
             decoder = codecs.getdecoder(encoding)
         except LookupError:
             irc.errorInvalid(_('encoding'), encoding)
-        if sys.version_info[0] >= 3 and not isinstance(text, bytes):
+        if minisix.PY3 and not isinstance(text, bytes):
             text = text.encode()
         try:
             text = decoder(text)[0]
@@ -140,9 +140,9 @@ class String(callbacks.Plugin):
             return
 
         # Change result into a string
-        if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(text, unicode):
+        if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(text, unicode):
             text = text.encode('utf-8')
-        elif sys.version_info[0] >= 3 and isinstance(text, bytes):
+        elif minisix.PY3 and isinstance(text, bytes):
             try:
                 text = text.decode()
             except UnicodeDecodeError:
diff --git a/plugins/Unix/plugin.py b/plugins/Unix/plugin.py
index 1f0f6bd82..0ceb4f3e0 100644
--- a/plugins/Unix/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/Unix/plugin.py
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ import shlex
 
 import supybot.utils as utils
 from supybot.commands import *
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.plugins as plugins
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
 import supybot.registry as registry
@@ -222,7 +223,7 @@ class Unix(callbacks.Plugin):
                           'not available.'), Raise=True)
             (out, err) = inst.communicate()
             inst.wait()
-            if sys.version_info[0] > 2:
+            if minisix.PY3:
                 lines = [i.decode('utf-8').rstrip() for i in out.splitlines()]
                 lines = list(map(str, lines))
             else:
diff --git a/plugins/Web/plugin.py b/plugins/Web/plugin.py
index c777c016a..31c01a108 100644
--- a/plugins/Web/plugin.py
+++ b/plugins/Web/plugin.py
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ import htmlentitydefs
 import supybot.conf as conf
 import supybot.utils as utils
 from supybot.commands import *
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.plugins as plugins
 import supybot.commands as commands
 import supybot.ircutils as ircutils
@@ -163,7 +164,7 @@ class Web(callbacks.PluginRegexp):
                         if self.registryValue('snarferShowTargetDomain', channel)
                         else url)
                 title = utils.web.htmlToText(parser.title.strip())
-                if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+                if minisix.PY2:
                     if isinstance(title, unicode):
                         title = title.encode('utf8', 'replace')
                 s = format(_('Title: %s (at %s)'), title, domain)
@@ -280,7 +281,7 @@ class Web(callbacks.PluginRegexp):
         except UnicodeDecodeError:
             pass
         parser = Title()
-        if sys.version_info[0] >= 3 and isinstance(text, bytes):
+        if minisix.PY3 and isinstance(text, bytes):
             irc.error(_('Could not guess the page\'s encoding. (Try '
                     'installing python-charade.)'), Raise=True)
         try:
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 679cc5abf..0387ffedc 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ try:
     proc = subprocess.Popen('git show HEAD --format=%ci', shell=True,
             stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.PIPE)
     date = proc.stdout.readline()
-    if sys.version_info[0] >= 3:
+    if minisix.PY3:
         date = date.decode()
         date = time.strptime(date.strip(), '%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S %z')
         utc_date = time.gmtime(time.mktime(date))
diff --git a/src/callbacks.py b/src/callbacks.py
index ffbed9840..679d82cf5 100644
--- a/src/callbacks.py
+++ b/src/callbacks.py
@@ -42,7 +42,13 @@ import codecs
 import getopt
 import inspect
 
-if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+from . import (conf, ircdb, irclib, ircmsgs, ircutils, log, minisix, registry,
+        utils, world)
+from .utils.iter import any, all
+from .i18n import PluginInternationalization, internationalizeDocstring
+_ = PluginInternationalization()
+
+if minisix.PY2:
     # cStringIO is buggy with Python 2.6 (
     # see http://paste.progval.net/show/227/ )
     # and it does not handle unicode objects in Python  2.x
@@ -50,12 +56,6 @@ if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
 else:
     from cStringIO import StringIO
 
-from . import (conf, ircdb, irclib, ircmsgs, ircutils, log, registry, utils,
-        world)
-from .utils.iter import any, all
-from .i18n import PluginInternationalization, internationalizeDocstring
-_ = PluginInternationalization()
-
 def _addressed(nick, msg, prefixChars=None, nicks=None,
               prefixStrings=None, whenAddressedByNick=None,
               whenAddressedByNickAtEnd=None):
@@ -151,9 +151,9 @@ def canonicalName(command, preserve_spaces=False):
     Currently, this makes everything lowercase and removes all dashes and
     underscores.
     """
-    if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(command, unicode):
+    if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(command, unicode):
         command = command.encode('utf-8')
-    elif sys.version_info[0] >= 3 and isinstance(command, bytes):
+    elif minisix.PY3 and isinstance(command, bytes):
         command = command.decode()
     special = '\t-_'
     if not preserve_spaces:
@@ -294,7 +294,7 @@ class Tokenizer(object):
             # Whoever you are, if you make a single modification to this
             # code, TEST the code with Python 2 & 3, both with the unit
             # tests and on IRC with this: @echo "好"
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+            if minisix.PY2:
                 try:
                     token = token.encode('utf8').decode('string_escape')
                     token = token.decode('utf8')
@@ -925,7 +925,7 @@ class NestedCommandsIrcProxy(ReplyIrcProxy):
                         # In case we're truncating, we add 20 to allowedLength,
                         # because our allowedLength is shortened for the
                         # "(XX more messages)" trailer.
-                        if sys.version_info[0] >= 3:
+                        if minisix.PY3:
                             appended = _('(XX more messages)').encode()
                             s = s.encode()[:allowedLength+len(appended)]
                             s = s.decode('utf8', 'ignore')
diff --git a/src/drivers/Socket.py b/src/drivers/Socket.py
index c249a352d..f7655da59 100644
--- a/src/drivers/Socket.py
+++ b/src/drivers/Socket.py
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ import errno
 import select
 import socket
 
-from .. import (conf, drivers, log, schedule, utils, world)
+from .. import (conf, drivers, log, minisix, schedule, utils, world)
 from ..utils.iter import imap
 from ..utils.str import decode_raw_line
 
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ class SocketDriver(drivers.IrcDriver, drivers.ServersMixin):
             self.outbuffer += ''.join(map(str, msgs))
         if self.outbuffer:
             try:
-                if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+                if minisix.PY2:
                     sent = self.conn.send(self.outbuffer)
                 else:
                     sent = self.conn.send(self.outbuffer.encode())
@@ -148,8 +148,8 @@ class SocketDriver(drivers.IrcDriver, drivers.ServersMixin):
                 # Do not use a list comprehension here, we have to edit the list
                 # and not to reassign it.
                 if not inst.connected or \
-                        (sys.version_info[0] == 3 and inst.conn._closed) or \
-                        (sys.version_info[0] == 2 and
+                        (minisix.PY3 and inst.conn._closed) or \
+                        (minisix.PY2 and
                             inst.conn._sock.__class__ is socket._closedsocket):
                     cls._instances.remove(inst)
                 elif inst.conn.fileno() == -1:
diff --git a/src/httpserver.py b/src/httpserver.py
index ee9398904..b770bc91f 100644
--- a/src/httpserver.py
+++ b/src/httpserver.py
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ from BaseHTTPServer import HTTPServer, BaseHTTPRequestHandler
 import supybot.log as log
 import supybot.conf as conf
 import supybot.world as world
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 from supybot.i18n import PluginInternationalization
 _ = PluginInternationalization()
 
@@ -276,7 +277,7 @@ class SupyHTTPServerCallback(object):
     message, it probably means you are developing a plugin, and you have
     neither overriden this message or defined an handler for this query.""")
 
-    if sys.version_info[0] >= 3:
+    if minisix.PY3:
         def write(self, b):
             if isinstance(b, str):
                 b = b.encode()
@@ -316,7 +317,7 @@ class Supy404(SupyHTTPServerCallback):
         self.send_header('Content-Length', len(self.response))
         self.end_headers()
         response = self.response
-        if sys.version_info[0] >= 3:
+        if minisix.PY3:
             response = response.encode()
         self.wfile.write(response)
 
@@ -339,7 +340,7 @@ class SupyIndex(SupyHTTPServerCallback):
         self.send_header('Content-Type', 'text/html; charset=utf-8')
         self.send_header('Content-Length', len(response))
         self.end_headers()
-        if sys.version_info[0] >= 3:
+        if minisix.PY3:
             response = response.encode()
         self.wfile.write(response)
 
@@ -357,7 +358,7 @@ class Static(SupyHTTPServerCallback):
         self.send_header('Content-type', self._mimetype)
         self.send_header('Content-Length', len(response))
         self.end_headers()
-        if sys.version_info[0] >= 3:
+        if minisix.PY3:
             response = response.encode()
         self.wfile.write(response)
 
@@ -394,7 +395,7 @@ class Favicon(SupyHTTPServerCallback):
             self.send_header('Content-type', 'text/plain; charset=utf-8')
             self.send_header('Content-Length', len(response))
             self.end_headers()
-            if sys.version_info[0] >= 3:
+            if minisix.PY3:
                 response = response.encode()
             self.wfile.write(response)
 
diff --git a/src/ircmsgs.py b/src/ircmsgs.py
index 45bf3104b..130fe924a 100644
--- a/src/ircmsgs.py
+++ b/src/ircmsgs.py
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ import sys
 import time
 import functools
 
-from . import conf, ircutils, utils
+from . import conf, ircutils, minisix, utils
 from .utils.iter import all
 
 ###
@@ -582,7 +582,7 @@ def kick(channel, nick, s='', prefix='', msg=None):
         assert isNick(nick), repr(nick)
     if msg and not prefix:
         prefix = msg.prefix
-    if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(s, unicode):
+    if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(s, unicode):
         s = s.encode('utf8')
     assert isinstance(s, str)
     if s:
@@ -602,7 +602,7 @@ def kicks(channels, nicks, s='', prefix='', msg=None):
         assert areNicks(nicks), repr(nicks)
     if msg and not prefix:
         prefix = msg.prefix
-    if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(s, unicode):
+    if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(s, unicode):
         s = s.encode('utf8')
     assert isinstance(s, str)
     if s:
@@ -619,7 +619,7 @@ def privmsg(recipient, s, prefix='', msg=None):
     if conf.supybot.protocols.irc.strictRfc():
         assert (areReceivers(recipient)), repr(recipient)
         assert s, 's must not be empty.'
-    if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(s, unicode):
+    if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(s, unicode):
         s = s.encode('utf8')
     assert isinstance(s, str)
     if msg and not prefix:
@@ -651,7 +651,7 @@ def notice(recipient, s, prefix='', msg=None):
     if conf.supybot.protocols.irc.strictRfc():
         assert areReceivers(recipient), repr(recipient)
         assert s, 'msg must not be empty.'
-    if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(s, unicode):
+    if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(s, unicode):
         s = s.encode('utf8')
     assert isinstance(s, str)
     if msg and not prefix:
@@ -701,7 +701,7 @@ def part(channel, s='', prefix='', msg=None):
         assert isChannel(channel), repr(channel)
     if msg and not prefix:
         prefix = msg.prefix
-    if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(s, unicode):
+    if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(s, unicode):
         s = s.encode('utf8')
     assert isinstance(s, str)
     if s:
@@ -717,7 +717,7 @@ def parts(channels, s='', prefix='', msg=None):
         assert all(isChannel, channels), channels
     if msg and not prefix:
         prefix = msg.prefix
-    if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(s, unicode):
+    if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(s, unicode):
         s = s.encode('utf8')
     assert isinstance(s, str)
     if s:
@@ -746,7 +746,7 @@ def topic(channel, topic=None, prefix='', msg=None):
         return IrcMsg(prefix=prefix, command='TOPIC',
                       args=(channel,), msg=msg)
     else:
-        if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(topic, unicode):
+        if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(topic, unicode):
             topic = topic.encode('utf8')
         assert isinstance(topic, str)
         return IrcMsg(prefix=prefix, command='TOPIC',
diff --git a/src/ircutils.py b/src/ircutils.py
index 566b5a73c..e7c619f0a 100644
--- a/src/ircutils.py
+++ b/src/ircutils.py
@@ -608,10 +608,10 @@ def isValidArgument(s):
 
 def safeArgument(s):
     """If s is unsafe for IRC, returns a safe version."""
-    if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(s, unicode):
+    if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(s, unicode):
         s = s.encode('utf-8')
-    elif (sys.version_info[0] < 3 and not isinstance(s, basestring)) or \
-            (sys.version_info[0] >= 3 and not isinstance(s, str)):
+    elif (minisix.PY2 and not isinstance(s, basestring)) or \
+            (minisix.PY3 and not isinstance(s, str)):
         debug('Got a non-string in safeArgument: %r', s)
         s = str(s)
     if isValidArgument(s):
diff --git a/src/plugin.py b/src/plugin.py
index ebe7e970b..b1333ade9 100644
--- a/src/plugin.py
+++ b/src/plugin.py
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ def loadPluginModule(name, ignoreDeprecation=False):
         module = imp.load_module(name, *moduleInfo)
     except:
         sys.modules.pop(name, None)
-        keys = sys.modules.keys()
+        keys = list(sys.modules.keys())
         for key in keys:
             if key.startswith(name + '.'):
                 sys.modules.pop(key)
diff --git a/src/questions.py b/src/questions.py
index 61abb19a8..dfeaece9e 100644
--- a/src/questions.py
+++ b/src/questions.py
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ import sys
 import textwrap
 from getpass import getpass as getPass
 
-from . import ansi, utils
+from . import ansi, minisix, utils
 from supybot.i18n import PluginInternationalization, internationalizeDocstring
 _ = PluginInternationalization()
 
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ def expect(prompt, possibilities, recursed=False, default=None,
     if useBold:
         prompt += ansi.RESET
         print(ansi.BOLD, end=' ', file=fd)
-    if sys.version_info[0] >= 3:
+    if minisix.PY3:
         s = input(prompt)
     else:
         s = raw_input(prompt)
diff --git a/src/registry.py b/src/registry.py
index 0a9a562e2..fc6033a4f 100644
--- a/src/registry.py
+++ b/src/registry.py
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ import codecs
 import string
 import textwrap
 
-from . import utils, i18n
+from . import utils, i18n, minisix
 _ = i18n.PluginInternationalization()
 
 def error(s):
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ class NonExistentRegistryEntry(RegistryException, AttributeError):
     # raise an AttributeError if a registry entry does not exist.
     pass
 
-ENCODING = 'string_escape' if sys.version_info[0] < 3 else 'unicode_escape'
+ENCODING = 'string_escape' if minisix.PY2 else 'unicode_escape'
 decoder = codecs.getdecoder(ENCODING)
 encoder = codecs.getencoder(ENCODING)
 
diff --git a/src/test.py b/src/test.py
index 3e0b07e72..2c5124c1f 100644
--- a/src/test.py
+++ b/src/test.py
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ import unittest
 import threading
 
 from . import (callbacks, conf, drivers, httpserver, i18n, ircdb, irclib,
-        ircmsgs, ircutils, log, plugin, registry, utils, world)
+        ircmsgs, ircutils, log, minisix, plugin, registry, utils, world)
 
 i18n.import_conf()
 network = True
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ class PluginTestCase(SupyTestCase):
         prefixChars = conf.supybot.reply.whenAddressedBy.chars()
         if not usePrefixChar and query[0] in prefixChars:
             query = query[1:]
-        if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+        if minisix.PY2:
             query = query.encode('utf8') # unicode->str
         msg = ircmsgs.privmsg(to, query, prefix=frm)
         if self.myVerbose:
@@ -437,7 +437,7 @@ class ChannelPluginTestCase(PluginTestCase):
         prefixChars = conf.supybot.reply.whenAddressedBy.chars()
         if query[0] not in prefixChars and usePrefixChar:
             query = prefixChars[0] + query
-        if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(query, unicode):
+        if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(query, unicode):
             query = query.encode('utf8') # unicode->str
         msg = ircmsgs.privmsg(to, query, prefix=frm)
         if self.myVerbose:
diff --git a/src/utils/gen.py b/src/utils/gen.py
index a9006d0f9..8d95ac520 100644
--- a/src/utils/gen.py
+++ b/src/utils/gen.py
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ from . import crypt
 from .str import format
 from .file import mktemp
 from .iter import imap
+from .. import minisix
 
 from supybot.i18n import PluginInternationalization
 _ = PluginInternationalization()
@@ -168,7 +169,7 @@ def saltHash(password, salt=None, hash='sha'):
         hasher = crypt.md5
     return '|'.join([salt, hasher((salt + password).encode('utf8')).hexdigest()])
 
-_astStr2 = ast.Str if sys.version_info[0] < 3 else ast.Bytes
+_astStr2 = ast.Str if minisix.PY2 else ast.Bytes
 def safeEval(s, namespace={'True': True, 'False': False, 'None': None}):
     """Evaluates s, safely.  Useful for turning strings into tuples/lists/etc.
     without unsafely using eval()."""
@@ -223,7 +224,7 @@ class IterableMap(object):
     """Define .items() in a class and subclass this to get the other iters.
     """
     def items(self):
-        if sys.version_info[0] >= 3 and hasattr(self, 'items'):
+        if minisix.PY3 and hasattr(self, 'items'):
             # For old plugins
             return getattr(self, 'items')() # avoid 2to3
         else:
diff --git a/src/utils/str.py b/src/utils/str.py
index 1d0994daa..44898af0e 100644
--- a/src/utils/str.py
+++ b/src/utils/str.py
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ try:
 except ImportError:
     charadeLoaded = False
 
-if sys.version_info[0] >= 3:
+if minisix.PY3:
     def decode_raw_line(line):
         #first, try to decode using utf-8
         try:
@@ -182,8 +182,8 @@ def dqrepr(s):
     """Returns a repr() of s guaranteed to be in double quotes."""
     # The wankers-that-be decided not to use double-quotes anymore in 2.3.
     # return '"' + repr("'\x00" + s)[6:]
-    encoding = 'string_escape' if sys.version_info[0] < 3 else 'unicode_escape'
-    if sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(s, unicode):
+    encoding = 'string_escape' if minisix.PY2 else 'unicode_escape'
+    if minisix.PY2 and isinstance(s, unicode):
         s = s.encode('utf8', 'replace')
     return '"%s"' % s.encode(encoding).decode().replace('"', '\\"')
 
@@ -506,7 +506,7 @@ def format(s, *args, **kwargs):
     # to add the character to the _formatRe regexp or it will be ignored
     # (and hard to debug if you don't know the trick).
     # Of course, you should also document it in the docstring above.
-    if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+    if minisix.PY2:
         def pred(s):
             if isinstance(s, unicode):
                 return s.encode('utf8')
@@ -521,7 +521,7 @@ def format(s, *args, **kwargs):
             token = args.pop()
             if isinstance(token, str):
                 return token
-            elif sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(token, unicode):
+            elif minisix.PY2 and isinstance(token, unicode):
                 return token.encode('utf8', 'replace')
             else:
                 return str(token)
diff --git a/src/utils/web.py b/src/utils/web.py
index 0f18899db..8c1412602 100644
--- a/src/utils/web.py
+++ b/src/utils/web.py
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ except AttributeError:
     pass
 
 from .str import normalizeWhitespace
+from .. import minisix
 
 Request = urllib2.Request
 urlquote = urllib.quote
@@ -108,7 +109,7 @@ def getUrlFd(url, headers=None, data=None, timeout=None):
     a dict and string, respectively, as per urllib2.Request's arguments."""
     if headers is None:
         headers = defaultHeaders
-    if sys.version_info[0] >= 3 and isinstance(data, str):
+    if minisix.PY3 and isinstance(data, str):
         data = data.encode()
     try:
         if not isinstance(url, urllib2.Request):
@@ -203,9 +204,9 @@ class HtmlToText(HTMLParser, object):
     def handle_entityref(self, data):
         if data in htmlentitydefs.name2codepoint:
             self.data.append(unichr(htmlentitydefs.name2codepoint[data]))
-        elif sys.version_info[0] >= 3 and isinstance(data, bytes):
+        elif minisix.PY3 and isinstance(data, bytes):
             self.data.append(data.decode())
-        elif sys.version_info[0] < 3 and isinstance(data, str):
+        elif minisix.PY2 and isinstance(data, str):
             self.data.append(data.decode('utf8', errors='replace'))
         else:
             self.data.append(data)
@@ -222,7 +223,7 @@ def htmlToText(s, tagReplace=' '):
         s = s.decode(encoding)
     else:
         try:
-            if sys.version_info[0] < 3 or isinstance(s, bytes):
+            if minisix.PY2 or isinstance(s, bytes):
                 s = s.decode('utf8')
         except:
             pass
diff --git a/src/world.py b/src/world.py
index a748b2339..0a8b1db0e 100644
--- a/src/world.py
+++ b/src/world.py
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ def upkeep():
         #if registryFilename is not None:
         #    registry.open(registryFilename)
     if not dying:
-        if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+        if minisix.PY2:
             log.debug('Regexp cache size: %s', len(re._cache))
         log.debug('Pattern cache size: %s', len(ircutils._patternCache))
         log.debug('HostmaskPatternEqual cache size: %s',
diff --git a/test/test_callbacks.py b/test/test_callbacks.py
index ad0cee3aa..160f63b26 100644
--- a/test/test_callbacks.py
+++ b/test/test_callbacks.py
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ from supybot.test import *
 import supybot.conf as conf
 import supybot.utils as utils
 import supybot.ircmsgs as ircmsgs
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.callbacks as callbacks
 
 tokenize = callbacks.tokenize
@@ -76,7 +77,7 @@ class TokenizerTestCase(SupyTestCase):
 def testUnicode(self):
     self.assertEqual(tokenize(u'好'), [u'好'])
     self.assertEqual(tokenize(u'"好"'), [u'好'])"""
-    if sys.version_info[0] >= 3:
+    if minisix.PY3:
         _testUnicode = _testUnicode.replace("u'", "'")
     exec(_testUnicode)
 
diff --git a/test/test_commands.py b/test/test_commands.py
index b54f1d3ec..475e2b10f 100644
--- a/test/test_commands.py
+++ b/test/test_commands.py
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ from supybot.commands import *
 import supybot.conf as conf
 import supybot.irclib as irclib
 import supybot.ircmsgs as ircmsgs
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 import supybot.callbacks as callbacks
 
 
@@ -88,7 +89,7 @@ class GeneralContextTestCase(CommandsTestCase):
         finally:
             conf.supybot.protocols.irc.strictRfc.setValue(strict)
 
-    if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+    if minisix.PY2:
         def testSpecLong(self):
             self.assertState(['long'], ['1'], [long(1)])
             self.assertState(['long', 'long', 'long'], ['1', '2', '3'],
diff --git a/test/test_firewall.py b/test/test_firewall.py
index b8b638a65..1d285021e 100644
--- a/test/test_firewall.py
+++ b/test/test_firewall.py
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
 
 from supybot.test import *
 from supybot import log
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 
 class FirewallTestCase(SupyTestCase):
     def setUp(self):
@@ -46,7 +47,7 @@ class C(%s
         pass
     def foo(self):
         raise self.MyException()""" %
-        ('metaclass=log.MetaFirewall):\n' if sys.version_info[0] >= 3 else
+        ('metaclass=log.MetaFirewall):\n' if minisix.PY3 else
             'object):\n    __metaclass__ = log.MetaFirewall'))
 
     def testCFooDoesNotRaise(self):
diff --git a/test/test_utils.py b/test/test_utils.py
index fdf9a36c3..0e7e1f792 100644
--- a/test/test_utils.py
+++ b/test/test_utils.py
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ import time
 import pickle
 import supybot.utils as utils
 from supybot.utils.structures import *
+import supybot.minisix as minisix
 
 if sys.version_info[0] >= 0:
     xrange = range
@@ -130,7 +131,7 @@ class GenTest(SupyTestCase):
         self.assertEqual(list(AL.items()), [(1, 2), (2, 3), (3, 4)])
         self.assertEqual(list(AL.items()), [(1, 2), (2, 3), (3, 4)])
         self.assertEqual(list(AL.keys()), [1, 2, 3])
-        if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+        if minisix.PY2:
             self.assertEqual(list(AL.keys()), [1, 2, 3])
             self.assertEqual(AL.values(), [2, 3, 4])
             self.assertEqual(list(AL.values()), [2, 3, 4])