Given a travel related situation, and given a specific question about the situation, summarize the question into a title

Q: I am storing a suitcase full of stuff at my college. At the storage site, I saw how luggage was stacked one on top of another. As some of the suitcases are probably very heavy, and as my suitcase will be stored there for a few months, I am wondering about the correct way to store the luggage to minimize the damage for the suitcases at the bottom of the pile. Should the cases be stacked sideways (as depicted in this image) or should they be stacked with the largest face pointing up (as depicted in this image)? Or would the two storage methods be equivalent? Finally how sturdy should a typical relatively new soft-case suitcase be?


A: How should I be stacking luggage?
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Q: I have been invited to a conference in USA. I am going to apply for a B1 visa. Unfortunately the invitation letter doesn't have a signature on it. Only the email id and the website is there. Would the letter be valid in this case?


A: Is a signature mandatory for a B1 visa invitation letter?
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Q: I'll be going to France for 4 months to conduct research towards my PhD. I believe I will be issued with a long stay visa for research to cover my trip. I have the required "Convention d'Accueil" from the organisation I'll be spending time at. I currently hold an Australian passport.

My question is, is this research visa considered a "Type D", like the other French long stay visas and does it allow entry into other Schengen areas? Does the research visa carry any specific conditions (besides the fact that you need a "Convention d'Accueil" to apply)? 

I will have a month off during my 4 month stay, during which I'd like to travel around to other countries, hopefully I can do this with the one visa.


A:
Does a French long stay research visa differ from a regular "Type-D" visa and are there implications for travelling in Schengen areas?
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