I don't think there is any major difference in the number of shi'ite spam bot troll posts, it's more of a consequence of the regulars being preoccupied with having *GASP* an actual life other than the forums here.
Inconceivable! But what I mean is that since most students aren't posting questions, you're just left with a weird mix of {people that actually like programming, spambots}.
Oh, my, yes, the number of noob questions (not shi'ite) or demands for us to write code gratis (definitely shi'ite) sure does go up whenever programming classes are in sessions. In-person and remote. Especially remote.
The obvious/semi-obvious spam bot stuff, such as our late and very unlamented OP, though, IMO stays stays at about the same level.
George, you should actually remove the hyperlink (or at least add hyperlink-breaking characters in-between it), because it indirectly links to spam, which is the whole goal of why spammers post (they try to sneak in their website to be associated with existing, reputable websites - search engine hacking).