diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Core/Constants.cs b/YamlDotNet/Core/Constants.cs
index 8ac19e9b2..ca2db896c 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Core/Constants.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Core/Constants.cs
@@ -28,11 +28,11 @@ namespace YamlDotNet.Core
     /// </summary>
     public static class Constants
     {
-        public static readonly TagDirective[] DefaultTagDirectives =
-        [
+        public static readonly TagDirective[] DefaultTagDirectives = new []
+        {
             new TagDirective("!", "!"),
             new TagDirective("!!", "tag:yaml.org,2002:")
-        ];
+        };
 
         public const int MajorVersion = 1;
         public const int MinorVersion = 3;
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Core/Emitter.cs b/YamlDotNet/Core/Emitter.cs
index 01824d10b..49975e062 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Core/Emitter.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Core/Emitter.cs
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ public class Emitter : IEmitter
         private static readonly Regex UriReplacer = new Regex(@"[^0-9A-Za-z_\-;?@=$~\\\)\]/:&+,\.\*\(\[!]",
             StandardRegexOptions.Compiled | RegexOptions.Singleline);
 
-        private static readonly string[] NewLineSeparators = ["\r\n", "\r", "\n"];
+        private static readonly string[] NewLineSeparators = new []{"\r\n", "\r", "\n"};
 
         private readonly TextWriter output;
         private readonly bool outputUsesUnicodeEncoding;
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ public class Emitter : IEmitter
         private readonly Stack<EmitterState> states = new Stack<EmitterState>();
         private readonly Queue<ParsingEvent> events = new Queue<ParsingEvent>();
         private readonly Stack<int> indents = new Stack<int>();
-        private readonly TagDirectiveCollection tagDirectives = [];
+        private readonly TagDirectiveCollection tagDirectives = new ();
         private int indent;
         private int flowLevel;
         private bool isMappingContext;
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Core/MergingParser.cs b/YamlDotNet/Core/MergingParser.cs
index 14c59393c..a021340c4 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Core/MergingParser.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Core/MergingParser.cs
@@ -173,9 +173,9 @@ private sealed class ParsingEventCollection : IEnumerable<LinkedListNode<Parsing
 
             public ParsingEventCollection()
             {
-                events = [];
-                deleted = [];
-                references = [];
+                events = new ();
+                deleted = new ();
+                references = new ();
             }
 
             public void AddAfter(LinkedListNode<ParsingEvent> node, IEnumerable<ParsingEvent> items)
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Core/Parser.cs b/YamlDotNet/Core/Parser.cs
index db4534570..878885ead 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Core/Parser.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Core/Parser.cs
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ namespace YamlDotNet.Core
     public class Parser : IParser
     {
         private readonly Stack<ParserState> states = new Stack<ParserState>();
-        private readonly TagDirectiveCollection tagDirectives = [];
+        private readonly TagDirectiveCollection tagDirectives = new ();
         private ParserState state;
 
         private readonly IScanner scanner;
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Core/Scanner.cs b/YamlDotNet/Core/Scanner.cs
index 291997b88..5fd884964 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Core/Scanner.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Core/Scanner.cs
@@ -2518,7 +2518,7 @@ private string ScanTagUri(string? head, Mark start)
             return result;
         }
 
-        private static readonly byte[] EmptyBytes = [];
+        private static readonly byte[] EmptyBytes = new byte[]{};
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Decode an URI-escape sequence corresponding to a single UTF-8 character.
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Helpers/FsharpHelper.cs b/YamlDotNet/Helpers/FsharpHelper.cs
index 6339a6807..efc1cd385 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Helpers/FsharpHelper.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Helpers/FsharpHelper.cs
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ public static bool IsFsharpListType(Type t)
                 .GetType("Microsoft.FSharp.Collections.ListModule")
                 .GetMethod("OfArray")
                 .MakeGenericMethod(itemsType)
-                .Invoke(null, [arr]);
+                .Invoke(null, new []{ arr });
 
             return fsharpList;
         }
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Helpers/OrderedDictionary.cs b/YamlDotNet/Helpers/OrderedDictionary.cs
index 9d1ab796f..63984069c 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Helpers/OrderedDictionary.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Helpers/OrderedDictionary.cs
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ public OrderedDictionary() : this(EqualityComparer<TKey>.Default)
 
         public OrderedDictionary(IEqualityComparer<TKey> comparer)
         {
-            list = [];
+            list = new ();
             dictionary = new Dictionary<TKey, TValue>(comparer);
             this.comparer = comparer;
         }
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ public bool TryGetValue(TKey key, [MaybeNullWhen(false)] out TValue value) =>
         internal void OnDeserializedMethod(StreamingContext context)
         {
             // Reconstruct the dictionary from the serialized list
-            dictionary = [];
+            dictionary = new ();
             foreach (var kvp in list)
             {
                 dictionary[kvp.Key] = kvp.Value;
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/ReflectionExtensions.cs b/YamlDotNet/ReflectionExtensions.cs
index 9cac5d066..ff78e881c 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/ReflectionExtensions.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/ReflectionExtensions.cs
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ public static bool IsGenericTypeDefinition(this Type type)
 
             static bool IsGenericDefinitionOfType(Type t, object? context)
             {
-                return t.IsGenericType && t.GetGenericTypeDefinition() == (Type)context;
+                return t.IsGenericType && context is Type type && t.GetGenericTypeDefinition() == type;
             }
         }
 
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/DocumentLoadingState.cs b/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/DocumentLoadingState.cs
index be41779be..39e0142e0 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/DocumentLoadingState.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/DocumentLoadingState.cs
@@ -31,8 +31,8 @@ namespace YamlDotNet.RepresentationModel
     /// </summary>
     internal class DocumentLoadingState
     {
-        private readonly Dictionary<AnchorName, YamlNode> anchors = [];
-        private readonly List<YamlNode> nodesWithUnresolvedAliases = [];
+        private readonly Dictionary<AnchorName, YamlNode> anchors = new ();
+        private readonly List<YamlNode> nodesWithUnresolvedAliases = new ();
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Adds the specified node to the anchor list.
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/EmitterState.cs b/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/EmitterState.cs
index e3d444bf4..bddb0ff4a 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/EmitterState.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/EmitterState.cs
@@ -33,6 +33,6 @@ internal class EmitterState
         /// Gets the already emitted anchors.
         /// </summary>
         /// <value>The emitted anchors.</value>
-        public HashSet<AnchorName> EmittedAnchors { get; } = [];
+        public HashSet<AnchorName> EmittedAnchors { get; } = new ();
     }
 }
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/YamlDocument.cs b/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/YamlDocument.cs
index 4dbc16ee9..121653201 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/YamlDocument.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/YamlDocument.cs
@@ -90,11 +90,11 @@ internal YamlDocument(IParser parser)
         /// </summary>
         private class AnchorAssigningVisitor : YamlVisitorBase
         {
-            private readonly HashSet<AnchorName> existingAnchors = [];
+            private readonly HashSet<AnchorName> existingAnchors = new ();
             /// <summary>
             /// Key: Node, Value: IsDuplicate
             /// </summary>
-            private readonly Dictionary<YamlNode, bool> visitedNodes = [];
+            private readonly Dictionary<YamlNode, bool> visitedNodes = new ();
 
             public void AssignAnchors(YamlDocument document)
             {
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/YamlMappingNode.cs b/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/YamlMappingNode.cs
index f22380c1e..5d8c573a1 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/YamlMappingNode.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/YamlMappingNode.cs
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ namespace YamlDotNet.RepresentationModel
     /// </summary>
     public sealed class YamlMappingNode : YamlNode, IEnumerable<KeyValuePair<YamlNode, YamlNode>>, IYamlConvertible
     {
-        private readonly OrderedDictionary<YamlNode, YamlNode> children = [];
+        private readonly OrderedDictionary<YamlNode, YamlNode> children = new();
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets the children of the current node.
@@ -196,13 +196,13 @@ internal override void ResolveAliases(DocumentLoadingState state)
             {
                 if (entry.Key is YamlAliasNode)
                 {
-                    keysToUpdate ??= [];
+                    keysToUpdate ??= new ();
                     // TODO: The representation model should be redesigned, because here the anchor could be null but that would be invalid YAML
                     keysToUpdate.Add(entry.Key, state.GetNode(entry.Key.Anchor!, entry.Key.Start, entry.Key.End));
                 }
                 if (entry.Value is YamlAliasNode)
                 {
-                    valuesToUpdate ??= [];
+                    valuesToUpdate ??= new ();
                     // TODO: The representation model should be redesigned, because here the anchor could be null but that would be invalid YAML
                     valuesToUpdate.Add(entry.Key, state.GetNode(entry.Value.Anchor!, entry.Value.Start, entry.Value.End));
                 }
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/YamlSequenceNode.cs b/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/YamlSequenceNode.cs
index 9526a50d6..de2fada27 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/YamlSequenceNode.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/YamlSequenceNode.cs
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ namespace YamlDotNet.RepresentationModel
     [DebuggerDisplay("Count = {children.Count}")]
     public sealed class YamlSequenceNode : YamlNode, IEnumerable<YamlNode>, IYamlConvertible
     {
-        private readonly List<YamlNode> children = [];
+        private readonly List<YamlNode> children = new ();
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets the collection of child nodes.
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/YamlStream.cs b/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/YamlStream.cs
index 326f4526b..a2ea8879f 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/YamlStream.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/RepresentationModel/YamlStream.cs
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ namespace YamlDotNet.RepresentationModel
     /// </summary>
     public class YamlStream : IEnumerable<YamlDocument>
     {
-        private readonly List<YamlDocument> documents = [];
+        private readonly List<YamlDocument> documents = new ();
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets the documents inside the stream.
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/BufferedDeserialization/TypeDiscriminatingNodeDeserializerOptions.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/BufferedDeserialization/TypeDiscriminatingNodeDeserializerOptions.cs
index a0289b964..48c6deb3f 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/BufferedDeserialization/TypeDiscriminatingNodeDeserializerOptions.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/BufferedDeserialization/TypeDiscriminatingNodeDeserializerOptions.cs
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ namespace YamlDotNet.Serialization.BufferedDeserialization
 {
     public class TypeDiscriminatingNodeDeserializerOptions : ITypeDiscriminatingNodeDeserializerOptions
     {
-        internal readonly List<ITypeDiscriminator> discriminators = [];
+        internal readonly List<ITypeDiscriminator> discriminators = new ();
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Adds an <see cref="ITypeDiscriminator" /> to be checked by the TypeDiscriminatingNodeDeserializer.
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/BufferedDeserialization/TypeDiscriminators/UniqueKeyTypeDiscriminator.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/BufferedDeserialization/TypeDiscriminators/UniqueKeyTypeDiscriminator.cs
index 9da434a08..f226cc1f4 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/BufferedDeserialization/TypeDiscriminators/UniqueKeyTypeDiscriminator.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/BufferedDeserialization/TypeDiscriminators/UniqueKeyTypeDiscriminator.cs
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ public bool TryDiscriminate(IParser parser, out Type? suggestedType)
                 scalar => this.typeMapping.ContainsKey(scalar.Value),
                 out var key,
                 out var _))
+            if (key != null) // Sorry, Unity's compiler didn't figure this one out on its own. Yes this statement shouldn't ever be false.
             {
                 suggestedType = this.typeMapping[key.Value];
                 return true;
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/BuilderSkeleton.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/BuilderSkeleton.cs
index a19d24146..e940008c4 100755
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/BuilderSkeleton.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/BuilderSkeleton.cs
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ internal BuilderSkeleton(ITypeResolver typeResolver)
                 { typeof(SystemTypeConverter), _ => new SystemTypeConverter() }
             };
 
-            typeInspectorFactories = [];
+            typeInspectorFactories = new ();
             this.typeResolver = typeResolver ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(typeResolver));
             settings = new Settings();
         }
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/DeserializerBuilder.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/DeserializerBuilder.cs
index 3c0f27b71..9bf729143 100755
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/DeserializerBuilder.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/DeserializerBuilder.cs
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ public sealed class DeserializerBuilder : BuilderSkeleton<DeserializerBuilder>
         public DeserializerBuilder()
             : base(new StaticTypeResolver())
         {
-            typeMappings = [];
+            typeMappings = new ();
             objectFactory = new Lazy<IObjectFactory>(() => new DefaultObjectFactory(typeMappings, settings), true);
 
             tagMappings = new Dictionary<TagName, Type>
@@ -90,6 +90,8 @@ public DeserializerBuilder()
             typeInspectorFactories.Add(typeof(YamlAttributeOverridesInspector), inner => overrides != null ? new YamlAttributeOverridesInspector(inner, overrides.Clone()) : inner);
             typeInspectorFactories.Add(typeof(ReadableAndWritablePropertiesTypeInspector), inner => new ReadableAndWritablePropertiesTypeInspector(inner));
 
+            typeConverter = new ReflectionTypeConverter();
+
             nodeDeserializerFactories = new LazyComponentRegistrationList<Nothing, INodeDeserializer>
             {
                 { typeof(YamlConvertibleNodeDeserializer), _ => new YamlConvertibleNodeDeserializer(objectFactory.Value) },
@@ -125,8 +127,6 @@ public DeserializerBuilder()
                 { typeof(PreventUnknownTagsNodeTypeResolver), _ => new PreventUnknownTagsNodeTypeResolver() },
                 { typeof(DefaultContainersNodeTypeResolver), _ => new DefaultContainersNodeTypeResolver() }
             };
-
-            typeConverter = new ReflectionTypeConverter();
         }
 
         protected override DeserializerBuilder Self { get { return this; } }
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/IObjectFactory.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/IObjectFactory.cs
index 39d8e7c7f..9df8fdbab 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/IObjectFactory.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/IObjectFactory.cs
@@ -77,12 +77,12 @@ public interface IObjectFactory
         /// Executes the methods on the object that has the <seealso cref="Callbacks.OnSerializingAttribute"/> attribute
         /// </summary>
         /// <param name="value"></param>
-        void ExecuteOnSerializing(object value);
+        void ExecuteOnSerializing(object? value);
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Executes the methods on the object that has the <seealso cref="Callbacks.OnSerializedAttribute"/> attribute
         /// </summary>
         /// <param name="value"></param>
-        void ExecuteOnSerialized(object value);
+        void ExecuteOnSerialized(object? value);
     }
 }
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/IObjectGraphTraversalStrategy.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/IObjectGraphTraversalStrategy.cs
index a8fd00f1d..fecf6ab66 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/IObjectGraphTraversalStrategy.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/IObjectGraphTraversalStrategy.cs
@@ -33,6 +33,6 @@ public interface IObjectGraphTraversalStrategy
         /// <param name="visitor">An <see cref="IObjectGraphVisitor{TContext}"/> that is to be notified during the traversal.</param>
         /// <param name="context">A <typeparamref name="TContext" /> that will be passed to the <paramref name="visitor" />.</param>
         /// <param name="serializer">The serializer to use to serialize complex objects.</param>
-        void Traverse<TContext>(IObjectDescriptor graph, IObjectGraphVisitor<TContext> visitor, TContext context, ObjectSerializer serializer);
+        void Traverse<TContext>(IObjectDescriptor graph, IObjectGraphVisitor<TContext> visitor, TContext context, ObjectSerializer serializer) where TContext : notnull;
     }
 }
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/LazyComponentRegistrationList.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/LazyComponentRegistrationList.cs
index 03fb2cf71..3e9e5a41e 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/LazyComponentRegistrationList.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/LazyComponentRegistrationList.cs
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ namespace YamlDotNet.Serialization
 {
     internal sealed class LazyComponentRegistrationList<TArgument, TComponent> : IEnumerable<Func<TArgument, TComponent>>
     {
-        private readonly List<LazyComponentRegistration> entries = [];
+        private readonly List<LazyComponentRegistration> entries = new ();
 
         public LazyComponentRegistrationList<TArgument, TComponent> Clone()
         {
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/NodeDeserializers/ObjectNodeDeserializer.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/NodeDeserializers/ObjectNodeDeserializer.cs
index bc3c69137..16f85a192 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/NodeDeserializers/ObjectNodeDeserializer.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/NodeDeserializers/ObjectNodeDeserializer.cs
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ public bool Deserialize(IParser parser, Type expectedType, Func<IParser, Type, o
             return true;
         }
 
-        public void NullCheck(object value, IPropertyDescriptor property, Scalar propertyName)
+        public void NullCheck(object? value, IPropertyDescriptor property, Scalar propertyName)
         {
             if (enforceNullability &&
                 value == null &&
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectFactories/DefaultObjectFactory.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectFactories/DefaultObjectFactory.cs
index 7ded332ba..f47e69e06 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectFactories/DefaultObjectFactory.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectFactories/DefaultObjectFactory.cs
@@ -122,13 +122,13 @@ public override void ExecuteOnDeserialized(object value) =>
         public override void ExecuteOnDeserializing(object value) =>
             ExecuteState(typeof(OnDeserializingAttribute), value);
 
-        public override void ExecuteOnSerialized(object value) =>
+        public override void ExecuteOnSerialized(object? value) =>
             ExecuteState(typeof(OnSerializedAttribute), value);
 
-        public override void ExecuteOnSerializing(object value) =>
+        public override void ExecuteOnSerializing(object? value) =>
             ExecuteState(typeof(OnSerializingAttribute), value);
 
-        private void ExecuteState(Type attributeType, object value)
+        private void ExecuteState(Type attributeType, object? value)
         {
             if (value == null)
             {
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectFactories/ObjectFactoryBase.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectFactories/ObjectFactoryBase.cs
index 3c363cee3..a5874a09b 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectFactories/ObjectFactoryBase.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectFactories/ObjectFactoryBase.cs
@@ -44,12 +44,12 @@ public virtual void ExecuteOnDeserializing(object value)
         }
 
         /// <inheritdoc />
-        public virtual void ExecuteOnSerialized(object value)
+        public virtual void ExecuteOnSerialized(object? value)
         {
         }
 
         /// <inheritdoc />
-        public virtual void ExecuteOnSerializing(object value)
+        public virtual void ExecuteOnSerializing(object? value)
         {
         }
 
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectFactories/StaticObjectFactory.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectFactories/StaticObjectFactory.cs
index 93a656462..50cadfbb1 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectFactories/StaticObjectFactory.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectFactories/StaticObjectFactory.cs
@@ -126,8 +126,8 @@ public bool GetDictionary(IObjectDescriptor descriptor, out IDictionary? diction
 
         public abstract void ExecuteOnDeserialized(object value);
 
-        public abstract void ExecuteOnSerializing(object value);
+        public abstract void ExecuteOnSerializing(object? value);
 
-        public abstract void ExecuteOnSerialized(object value);
+        public abstract void ExecuteOnSerialized(object? value);
     }
 }
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectGraphTraversalStrategies/FullObjectGraphTraversalStrategy.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectGraphTraversalStrategies/FullObjectGraphTraversalStrategy.cs
index 3a26a1199..90ce5eb8c 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectGraphTraversalStrategies/FullObjectGraphTraversalStrategy.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectGraphTraversalStrategies/FullObjectGraphTraversalStrategy.cs
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ public ObjectPathSegment(object name, IObjectDescriptor value)
             }
         }
 
-        protected virtual void Traverse<TContext>(IPropertyDescriptor? propertyDescriptor, object name, IObjectDescriptor value, IObjectGraphVisitor<TContext> visitor, TContext context, Stack<ObjectPathSegment> path, ObjectSerializer serializer)
+        protected virtual void Traverse<TContext>(IPropertyDescriptor? propertyDescriptor, object name, IObjectDescriptor value, IObjectGraphVisitor<TContext> visitor, TContext context, Stack<ObjectPathSegment> path, ObjectSerializer serializer) where TContext : notnull
         {
             if (path.Count >= maxRecursion)
             {
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ protected virtual void Traverse<TContext>(IPropertyDescriptor? propertyDescripto
             }
         }
 
-        protected virtual void TraverseObject<TContext>(IPropertyDescriptor? propertyDescriptor, IObjectDescriptor value, IObjectGraphVisitor<TContext> visitor, TContext context, Stack<ObjectPathSegment> path, ObjectSerializer serializer)
+        protected virtual void TraverseObject<TContext>(IPropertyDescriptor? propertyDescriptor, IObjectDescriptor value, IObjectGraphVisitor<TContext> visitor, TContext context, Stack<ObjectPathSegment> path, ObjectSerializer serializer) where TContext : notnull
         {
             if (typeof(IDictionary).IsAssignableFrom(value.Type))
             {
@@ -201,6 +201,7 @@ protected virtual void TraverseObject<TContext>(IPropertyDescriptor? propertyDes
             }
 
             if (objectFactory.GetDictionary(value, out var adaptedDictionary, out var genericArguments))
+            if (genericArguments != null)
             {
                 TraverseDictionary(propertyDescriptor, new ObjectDescriptor(adaptedDictionary, value.Type, value.StaticType, value.ScalarStyle), visitor, genericArguments[0], genericArguments[1], context, path, serializer);
                 return;
@@ -215,7 +216,7 @@ protected virtual void TraverseObject<TContext>(IPropertyDescriptor? propertyDes
             TraverseProperties(value, visitor, context, path, serializer);
         }
 
-        protected virtual void TraverseDictionary<TContext>(IPropertyDescriptor? propertyDescriptor, IObjectDescriptor dictionary, IObjectGraphVisitor<TContext> visitor, Type keyType, Type valueType, TContext context, Stack<ObjectPathSegment> path, ObjectSerializer serializer)
+        protected virtual void TraverseDictionary<TContext>(IPropertyDescriptor? propertyDescriptor, IObjectDescriptor dictionary, IObjectGraphVisitor<TContext> visitor, Type keyType, Type valueType, TContext context, Stack<ObjectPathSegment> path, ObjectSerializer serializer) where TContext : notnull
         {
             visitor.VisitMappingStart(dictionary, keyType, valueType, context, serializer);
 
@@ -237,7 +238,7 @@ protected virtual void TraverseDictionary<TContext>(IPropertyDescriptor? propert
             visitor.VisitMappingEnd(dictionary, context, serializer);
         }
 
-        private void TraverseList<TContext>(IPropertyDescriptor propertyDescriptor, IObjectDescriptor value, IObjectGraphVisitor<TContext> visitor, TContext context, Stack<ObjectPathSegment> path, ObjectSerializer serializer)
+        private void TraverseList<TContext>(IPropertyDescriptor? propertyDescriptor, IObjectDescriptor value, IObjectGraphVisitor<TContext> visitor, TContext context, Stack<ObjectPathSegment> path, ObjectSerializer serializer) where TContext : notnull
         {
             var itemType = objectFactory.GetValueType(value.Type);
 
@@ -254,7 +255,7 @@ private void TraverseList<TContext>(IPropertyDescriptor propertyDescriptor, IObj
             visitor.VisitSequenceEnd(value, context, serializer);
         }
 
-        protected virtual void TraverseProperties<TContext>(IObjectDescriptor value, IObjectGraphVisitor<TContext> visitor, TContext context, Stack<ObjectPathSegment> path, ObjectSerializer serializer)
+        protected virtual void TraverseProperties<TContext>(IObjectDescriptor value, IObjectGraphVisitor<TContext> visitor, TContext context, Stack<ObjectPathSegment> path, ObjectSerializer serializer) where TContext : notnull
         {
             if (context.GetType() != typeof(Nothing))
             {
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectGraphVisitors/AnchorAssigner.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectGraphVisitors/AnchorAssigner.cs
index 5a161b6ca..57e35a0e2 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectGraphVisitors/AnchorAssigner.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectGraphVisitors/AnchorAssigner.cs
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ private class AnchorAssignment
             public AnchorName Anchor;
         }
 
-        private readonly Dictionary<object, AnchorAssignment> assignments = [];
+        private readonly Dictionary<object, AnchorAssignment> assignments = new ();
         private uint nextId;
 
         public AnchorAssigner(IEnumerable<IYamlTypeConverter> typeConverters)
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectGraphVisitors/AnchorAssigningObjectGraphVisitor.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectGraphVisitors/AnchorAssigningObjectGraphVisitor.cs
index 930b21bf8..b79c207d7 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectGraphVisitors/AnchorAssigningObjectGraphVisitor.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectGraphVisitors/AnchorAssigningObjectGraphVisitor.cs
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ public sealed class AnchorAssigningObjectGraphVisitor : ChainedObjectGraphVisito
     {
         private readonly IEventEmitter eventEmitter;
         private readonly IAliasProvider aliasProvider;
-        private readonly HashSet<AnchorName> emittedAliases = [];
+        private readonly HashSet<AnchorName> emittedAliases = new ();
 
         public AnchorAssigningObjectGraphVisitor(IObjectGraphVisitor<IEmitter> nextVisitor, IEventEmitter eventEmitter, IAliasProvider aliasProvider)
             : base(nextVisitor)
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectGraphVisitors/PreProcessingPhaseObjectGraphVisitorSkeleton.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectGraphVisitors/PreProcessingPhaseObjectGraphVisitorSkeleton.cs
index 7f666003e..3a56c2190 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectGraphVisitors/PreProcessingPhaseObjectGraphVisitorSkeleton.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/ObjectGraphVisitors/PreProcessingPhaseObjectGraphVisitorSkeleton.cs
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ public abstract class PreProcessingPhaseObjectGraphVisitorSkeleton : IObjectGrap
 
         public PreProcessingPhaseObjectGraphVisitorSkeleton(IEnumerable<IYamlTypeConverter> typeConverters)
         {
-            var tcs = typeConverters?.ToArray() ?? [];
+            var tcs = typeConverters?.ToArray() ?? new IYamlTypeConverter[]{};
 
             this.typeConverters = tcs;
             this.typeConverterCache = new TypeConverterCache(tcs);
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/SerializerBuilder.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/SerializerBuilder.cs
index bae3896d5..cde8abadc 100755
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/SerializerBuilder.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/SerializerBuilder.cs
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ public sealed class SerializerBuilder : BuilderSkeleton<SerializerBuilder>
         private readonly LazyComponentRegistrationList<IEnumerable<IYamlTypeConverter>, IObjectGraphVisitor<Nothing>> preProcessingPhaseObjectGraphVisitorFactories;
         private readonly LazyComponentRegistrationList<EmissionPhaseObjectGraphVisitorArgs, IObjectGraphVisitor<IEmitter>> emissionPhaseObjectGraphVisitorFactories;
         private readonly LazyComponentRegistrationList<IEventEmitter, IEventEmitter> eventEmitterFactories;
-        private readonly Dictionary<Type, TagName> tagMappings = [];
+        private readonly Dictionary<Type, TagName> tagMappings = new ();
         private readonly IObjectFactory objectFactory;
         private int maximumRecursion = 50;
         private EmitterSettings emitterSettings = EmitterSettings.Default;
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/StaticBuilderSkeleton.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/StaticBuilderSkeleton.cs
index 628753599..0a210b9b9 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/StaticBuilderSkeleton.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/StaticBuilderSkeleton.cs
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ internal StaticBuilderSkeleton(ITypeResolver typeResolver)
                 { typeof(GuidConverter), _ => new GuidConverter(false) },
             };
 
-            typeInspectorFactories = [];
+            typeInspectorFactories = new ();
             this.typeResolver = typeResolver ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(typeResolver));
             settings = new Settings();
         }
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/StaticDeserializerBuilder.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/StaticDeserializerBuilder.cs
index 572e53c95..c7b37a05d 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/StaticDeserializerBuilder.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/StaticDeserializerBuilder.cs
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ public StaticDeserializerBuilder(StaticContext context)
         {
             this.context = context;
             factory = context.GetFactory();
-            typeMappings = [];
+            typeMappings = new ();
 
             tagMappings = new Dictionary<TagName, Type>
             {
@@ -85,6 +85,8 @@ public StaticDeserializerBuilder(StaticContext context)
             typeInspectorFactories.Add(typeof(NamingConventionTypeInspector), inner => namingConvention is NullNamingConvention ? inner : new NamingConventionTypeInspector(inner, namingConvention));
             typeInspectorFactories.Add(typeof(YamlAttributesTypeInspector), inner => new YamlAttributesTypeInspector(inner));
 
+            typeConverter = new NullTypeConverter();
+
             nodeDeserializerFactories = new LazyComponentRegistrationList<Nothing, INodeDeserializer>
             {
                 { typeof(YamlConvertibleNodeDeserializer), _ => new YamlConvertibleNodeDeserializer(factory) },
@@ -117,8 +119,6 @@ public StaticDeserializerBuilder(StaticContext context)
                 { typeof(PreventUnknownTagsNodeTypeResolver), _ => new PreventUnknownTagsNodeTypeResolver() },
                 { typeof(DefaultContainersNodeTypeResolver), _ => new DefaultContainersNodeTypeResolver() }
             };
-
-            typeConverter = new NullTypeConverter();
         }
 
         protected override StaticDeserializerBuilder Self { get { return this; } }
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/StaticSerializerBuilder.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/StaticSerializerBuilder.cs
index 4c165fbc3..c99006c9a 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/StaticSerializerBuilder.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/StaticSerializerBuilder.cs
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ public sealed class StaticSerializerBuilder : StaticBuilderSkeleton<StaticSerial
         private readonly LazyComponentRegistrationList<IEnumerable<IYamlTypeConverter>, IObjectGraphVisitor<Nothing>> preProcessingPhaseObjectGraphVisitorFactories;
         private readonly LazyComponentRegistrationList<EmissionPhaseObjectGraphVisitorArgs, IObjectGraphVisitor<IEmitter>> emissionPhaseObjectGraphVisitorFactories;
         private readonly LazyComponentRegistrationList<IEventEmitter, IEventEmitter> eventEmitterFactories;
-        private readonly Dictionary<Type, TagName> tagMappings = [];
+        private readonly Dictionary<Type, TagName> tagMappings = new ();
         private int maximumRecursion = 50;
         private EmitterSettings emitterSettings = EmitterSettings.Default;
         private DefaultValuesHandling defaultValuesHandlingConfiguration = DefaultValuesHandling.Preserve;
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/StreamFragment.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/StreamFragment.cs
index 632a0de97..88d713ddd 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/StreamFragment.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/StreamFragment.cs
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ namespace YamlDotNet.Serialization
     /// </summary>
     public sealed class StreamFragment : IYamlConvertible
     {
-        private readonly List<ParsingEvent> events = [];
+        private readonly List<ParsingEvent> events = new ();
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets or sets the events.
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/TagMappings.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/TagMappings.cs
index 00b63cbc8..03afa77e8 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/TagMappings.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/TagMappings.cs
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ public sealed class TagMappings
         /// </summary>
         public TagMappings()
         {
-            mappings = [];
+            mappings = new ();
         }
 
         /// <summary>
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/Utilities/ObjectAnchorCollection.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/Utilities/ObjectAnchorCollection.cs
index 4abde9d3e..a92ee2a71 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/Utilities/ObjectAnchorCollection.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/Utilities/ObjectAnchorCollection.cs
@@ -27,8 +27,8 @@ namespace YamlDotNet.Serialization.Utilities
 {
     internal sealed class ObjectAnchorCollection
     {
-        private readonly Dictionary<string, object> objectsByAnchor = [];
-        private readonly Dictionary<object, string> anchorsByObject = [];
+        private readonly Dictionary<string, object> objectsByAnchor = new ();
+        private readonly Dictionary<object, string> anchorsByObject = new ();
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Adds the specified anchor.
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/Utilities/SerializerState.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/Utilities/SerializerState.cs
index 944af3ee8..44c5917fe 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/Utilities/SerializerState.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/Utilities/SerializerState.cs
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ namespace YamlDotNet.Serialization.Utilities
     /// </summary>
     public sealed class SerializerState : IDisposable
     {
-        private readonly Dictionary<Type, object> items = [];
+        private readonly Dictionary<Type, object> items = new ();
 
         public T Get<T>()
             where T : class, new()
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/Utilities/TypeConverter.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/Utilities/TypeConverter.cs
index ed2667db4..9bc928a93 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/Utilities/TypeConverter.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/Utilities/TypeConverter.cs
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ public static T ChangeType<T>(object? value, INamingConvention enumNamingConvent
                         {
                             try
                             {
-                                return method.Invoke(null, [value]);
+                                return method.Invoke(null, new []{value});
                             }
                             catch (TargetInvocationException ex)
                             {
@@ -200,14 +200,14 @@ public static T ChangeType<T>(object? value, INamingConvention enumNamingConvent
                     var parseMethod = destinationType.GetPublicStaticMethod("Parse", typeof(string), typeof(IFormatProvider));
                     if (parseMethod != null)
                     {
-                        return parseMethod.Invoke(null, [value, culture]);
+                        return parseMethod.Invoke(null, new []{value, culture});
                     }
 
                     // Try with - public static T Parse(string)
                     parseMethod = destinationType.GetPublicStaticMethod("Parse", typeof(string));
                     if (parseMethod != null)
                     {
-                        return parseMethod.Invoke(null, [value]);
+                        return parseMethod.Invoke(null, new []{value});
                     }
                 }
                 catch (TargetInvocationException ex)
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/Utilities/TypeConverterCache.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/Utilities/TypeConverterCache.cs
index 27516082d..9620c556a 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/Utilities/TypeConverterCache.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/Utilities/TypeConverterCache.cs
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ internal sealed class TypeConverterCache
         private readonly IYamlTypeConverter[] typeConverters;
         private readonly ConcurrentDictionary<Type, (bool HasMatch, IYamlTypeConverter? TypeConverter)> cache = new();
 
-        public TypeConverterCache(IEnumerable<IYamlTypeConverter>? typeConverters) : this(typeConverters?.ToArray() ?? [])
+        public TypeConverterCache(IEnumerable<IYamlTypeConverter>? typeConverters) : this(typeConverters?.ToArray() ?? new IYamlTypeConverter[]{})
         {
         }
 
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/YamlAttributeOverrides.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/YamlAttributeOverrides.cs
index b71520c7c..8be14c93c 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/YamlAttributeOverrides.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/YamlAttributeOverrides.cs
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ public int Matches(Type matchType)
             }
         }
 
-        private readonly Dictionary<AttributeKey, List<AttributeMapping>> overrides = [];
+        private readonly Dictionary<AttributeKey, List<AttributeMapping>> overrides = new ();
 
         [return: MaybeNull]
         public T GetAttribute<T>(Type type, string member) where T : Attribute
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ public void Add(Type type, string member, Attribute attribute)
             var attributeKey = new AttributeKey(attribute.GetType(), member);
             if (!overrides.TryGetValue(attributeKey, out var mappings))
             {
-                mappings = [];
+                mappings = new ();
                 overrides.Add(attributeKey, mappings);
             }
             else if (mappings.Contains(mapping))
diff --git a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/YamlFormatter.cs b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/YamlFormatter.cs
index de0e3586f..448cde60f 100644
--- a/YamlDotNet/Serialization/YamlFormatter.cs
+++ b/YamlDotNet/Serialization/YamlFormatter.cs
@@ -32,12 +32,12 @@ public class YamlFormatter
         {
             CurrencyDecimalSeparator = ".",
             CurrencyGroupSeparator = "_",
-            CurrencyGroupSizes = [3],
+            CurrencyGroupSizes = new int[]{ 3 },
             CurrencySymbol = string.Empty,
             CurrencyDecimalDigits = 99,
             NumberDecimalSeparator = ".",
             NumberGroupSeparator = "_",
-            NumberGroupSizes = [3],
+            NumberGroupSizes = new int[]{ 3 },
             NumberDecimalDigits = 99,
             NaNSymbol = ".nan",
             PositiveInfinitySymbol = ".inf",