Hacker News Reader

It doesn't specify whether _he_ wrote the 4kloc first ..

Negative LOC is not uncommon in maintenance work; things become obsolete or better solutions are invented.

Steve Balmer on IBMs obsession with KLOCS

He did. Or anyway the first version. Possibly other people dirtied it after.

Doesn't really matter either way, article indicates the report the -2000 was put on was from a restricted time range.