@kiaazid -- I think that you would be a better moderator if you could offer advice on how they could improve on their work to get approved. I understand that you probably see quite a bit of sub par work that people just slap together with no creativity and that can be frustrating, but that's part of being a leader: inspiring people to be better. Have you ever considered that some of these people may not have much experience in design, but they're making an honest effort and could improve their quality of work with a little guidance? It seems like you are not respected in your position as a moderator and it's senseless to propagate such negativity just because you've been delegated with a bit of authority. If you don't like being a moderator, don't do it. If you do like being a moderator, maybe you should consider contributing positively with the authority you've been given.
With that said, @dwin0603 -- I think that your design is way more creative than the original but there is room for improvement. A couple of suggestions that I personally think would make it more appealing is if you were to add some shading to create a sense of depth (such as a bevel or emboss effect) and maybe consider softening some of the hard angles by rounding off the corners. The combination of the two would really make your design stand out in my opinion.
RE: SMSDROID PROPOSED NEW DESIGN LOGO/ICON