I'm not sure what horrors you're referring to. I have a DCS gas range with a brushed SS top and there's no need to be fanatic about cleaning it. If something burns on, it's a good idea to clean it up - but even if I wait, a Dobie pad with some Fantastic or Bar Keeper's Friend always does the job. I definitely don't clean up every little spatter after every use. Also, on mine, I can lift up a grate with one hand and wipe underneath with a paper towel with the other. I used to just leave it all for my cleaning people to clean every other week, but recently I do it myself because the cleaning people would sometimes get the ignitors wet and then they would continue to spark for a while.

I do realize that some SS cooktops are more difficult to clean than others, but I don't think any of them are horrors unless you're obsessive about them looking spotless all the time.

This is good news. Horror stories came from friends with SS appliances and the owner manual about the need for prompt cleaning. Maybe we are just being paranoid? Or overly protective of our new "baby". And then again, maybe its like the brand new car........you drive yourself crazy until the first scratch.

Thanks weissman for your response. I do appreciate it.

Well, let's pretend it is my sainted mother speaking, in her direct way: "Clean the stove when you do the dishes! Every time!"

Doesn't matter if it is electric or gas--wipe it down.
In my case, if I know I'm going to do something that spatters, like browning meat, I take a breadboard or a not so clean dish towel and put it well away from the burner, but on the stove so the mess doesn't travel too far. Works if you are only using one burner....

I think you will grow to appreciate that cleaning it twice a month is probably OK unless you boil over something.

Wipe it down when you wipe your counters down. Scrub it when something boils over, or once a month if you need a schedule. It's not a big deal. At all.