"...It was a mistake, in my opinion, to not have moderators who could actually delete spam..."

I have to pretty strongly disagree. Given how censorship has, and is now burgeoning, across the entire web, that kind of power to censor would certainly bite us in the free speech. Particularly considering the very abuse you guys are discussing, and much else presently impacting Steem.

The last thing we need are censors, because that will be the end of Steem, IMHO.