OK I didn't know whether to post this in bug reports or not, because it isn't really a bug, more a gameplay issue. Noticed it playing this beatmap so I'll post it here.
With short sliders (ones without dots in between the start and end), you can simply click and hold the end point for the duration of the slider and you will get no penalty. This is most obvious at the start of Vertigo with the four short sliders. Maybe the start point needs to be specified as a required "waypoint"?
Hmm just noticed that even for long sliders, you don't lose anything by not clicking the start of the slider - you only lose life through missing the middle waypoints. I think in EBA if you miss the start of a slider, they mark it with an X similar to when you miss a normal click.
eyupz