Before I give you the plus or minuses I want to give you some warnings.
If you are
brand new to rooting or Android you need to follow every step of a guide I will give you a link to. Never think you don't need the step, it'll only mess you up.
Here's a guide link:
XDA Guide
Bricking your device is not a huge hazard with this phone, it is fairly forgiving. Your can mess up and brick it, but the risk is FAIRLY low.
The biggest and maybe the only
plus about rooting is being able to install custom ROMs. If you have spent any time on the root forums you have probably seen Cyanogen Mod which is a custom ROM that is VERY popular.
The
minuses are that you can REALLY mess it up. Installing any OTA updates will revert you to stock or brick your device.
Another
minus is that if your rooted, your warranty is gone. You may be able to take it back, but you will want to unroot first, if you root, you can't rely on your warranty.