Yes, lots of people have started using Rust for hobby projects [0] and their feedback has been invaluable to the development of the language.

[0] http://rust-ci.org/projects/

Will there be any impact on Rust due to Brendan Eich quitting Mozilla?

How much involvement did he have on the project?

Brian Anderson said it better than I could:

Brendan's resignation as CEO will have no effect on Rust or Servo.

Many people at all levels of the organization are huge supporters of Rust, Servo, and Mozilla Research in general.

No change: http://www.reddit.com/r/rust/comments/224wgn/eich_steps_down...

(The "mozilla" people (brson and pcwalton) are the people to listen to there.)

AFAIK, there will be no changes due to Eich leaving Mozilla w.r.t Rust. If he had any involvement, it was minor.

None, if any. None that can be discerned from emails.

If you are ok with keeping up to date with the some changes to the language and libraries, then it's great for hobby stuff (that's what I'm using it for). I wouldn't be using it in production just yet, however (not that I thought you were suggesting that).

The core concepts of the language are probably set in stone, but some syntax changes, and fine-trimming of features may occur before 1.0. So I'd say give it a go.

How about giving it a rust instead? wink wink