Outer join use

Normally SQL does not allow to use a table with more than 1 outer join (+), how to solve the problem is a mystery for me. Previously i have read that ANSI code could be used for this though i haven' t use it yet. Today i have seen a discoverer report which uses some selects as tables to avoid outer joins and unions. Writer of the report says it also improves the performance, i will try it when the time arrives...