I agree with you that the only option available seems to be flagging spam. I must admit I am a little scared to do it though after seeing what happened during the flag wars recently. Many of these spammers are working together and I would hate to see them destroy what I have worked so hard for.
I wish there was a way we could report spammers to an account whose sole purpose it was to flag spammers, effectively shield our hard work. I would certainly delegate some steem to a service like that.
It's certainly a tough call, and a fine line to walk. Nobody wants to hurt other people, but it's not really about that, is it? It's more like keeping people who are hurting others from doing it in your own house, so-to-speak. But no doubt, it's not easy. I just bumped @taskmaster4450 to the top for sharing his experience and perspective. I think we all pretty much agree.