diff --git a/nm64/nmdbstream.py b/nm64/nmdbstream.py
index f8e2729..9780dd3 100755
--- a/nm64/nmdbstream.py
+++ b/nm64/nmdbstream.py
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ while True:
             except ValueError:
                 if len(sockets)>=10:
                     logger("too many connections %s\n" % repr(sockets))
-                    s[0].send(b"too many connections, good bye\n")
+                    s[0].send("too many connections, good bye\n")
                     s[0].close()
                 else:
                     sockets.append(s)