This needs to be emphasized. The internet wasn't wildly different when Rust was introduced, but it was a different time. Communities devoted to technical things

This needs to be emphasized. The internet wasn't wildly different when Rust was introduced, but it was a different time. Communities devoted to technical things (like programming languages) were harder to find, and generally felt smaller. On a cultural level, Me-Too and Trump did a lot to bring what OP labeled "obligatory LGBTQ nonsense" to the forefront. Before that, LGBTQ people did face a more casually open sense of hostility on a regular basis. There is a direct line between fostering an environment that is open to all sorts of marginalized groups, the people joining that environment being more inclined to help out with the core project, and the core project successfully growing a large user base.