Both single click and double click should not enter edit mode. You can select text by single-clicking prior to the first character you want to select and then shift-clicking after the last character you want to select. Removing click-to-edit completely would fix this use case.

Additionally, making the description a “safe to click” area would help with editing other fields. When done editing a field, you need to click out of it in order for it to save before closing the page/tab. Currently, the Jira issue page has very few small areas of safe-to-click whitespace. If the Description field became a “safe to click” area, this would speed up editing other click-to-edit fields.

Not to mention when it opens in the editor, all of the content of the description shifts around from the rich text editor, so not only are in you edit mode on a document you don't want to edit, you the thing you were trying to copy has now moved on the page. It's a very antagonistic design.

The summary should clearly state that this regards DOUBLE CLICK and not SINGLE CLICK, right?

At least for me, I like that a single click = enter edit mode.

But I totally agree that a double click should select the double-clicked text.

most of the time you read/copy from the description, not edit it.

why does double clicking a word in the description of a ticket causes to edit it instead of selecting it so i could copy-paste it like any other place in the ticket? this is a horrible UX.