Expanding bugtask edit form on bug page can confuse users

I'll note that this is only an issue on bugs like that where the list of packages is incredibly huge, as with normal single target bugs the function of the arrow (hiding the comment interface) is much more visible

I don't see what you mean. The status/comment form either displays or disappears for me. Nothing is hidden, though you do have to scroll down the page after expanding the form. Is this what you mean, that what the form is doing is not obvious?

Thanks for clarifying!

Each button hides/shows the comment form, but the buttons also hide/show the other affected targets -- but only the targets below.

This gets confusing given its position when a target also has release nominations, as it looks like the intended function of the arrow is to simply hide the release nominations. Doing so obscures the fact that there are other targets deeper below, and this is not obvious.

Furthermore, It seems weird to have multiple buttons to hide the same comment form, each hiding one more piece of additional information than another (ie all but the above targets)

The show/hide arrow doesn't work like this for me. It pushes the targets below down the page, not hides them. What browser are you using?

Also, a screenshot showing the problem might help. Thanks!

Nevermind, it seems you are right, I hadn't noticed them when they got moved below the comment form because I had thought that the comment form was always "at the bottom" after the targets list.

This confusion would likely be cleared up by making the arrow behave more like similar arrows in operating systems -- it changes from pointing down to pointing right depending on whether or not it is engaged. Right now it always points down, whether or not the comment field is active underneath it.

I'll claim this bug to note that the edit status/comment combo form expands confusingly, but this will be fixed by bug 399756, which notes that we plan to remove this form eventually.