One of the most interesting and frustrating truths about chess is this: Not only are there exceptions to any rule, but the number of exceptions is not insignificant. This is true regarding early queen sorties as well. The "rule" or "rule of thumb" would say that you should be very wary of moving the queen too early. But, indeed chess has opening systems where that is specifically a dominant feature (e.g., the Scandinavian Defense).
So, what is the truth? I would contend that if such sorties "work" against talented opposition, then they could be fairly called "exceptions to the rule." If they get busted consistently by talented opposition, then the "rule" would seem to be playing out. In chess, the actual position and validity of the available moves in that position are truth, not some "rule of thumb."
I have a friend with i usually play chess, and one day he came up with this queen "hang out" thing. It seems to be that he takes the queen early in the game but doesn't attack anything and just "hangs out". He says that he does because when in the middlegame you wanna take your queen you can't 'cause there are a bunch of pieces. He brings his queen to g4 and then he brings it back to g3 "to a safer square". What do you think? Does anybody does it?