I really don't see why looking on Google shouldn't count as general reference.

if you don't already know the answer to your question, you have no way to evaluate whether that first Google result is actually correct

It's the same for general reference books. Dictionaries are okay 80% of the time and atrocious the rest.

If you can't think of the right search terms to ask Google, then you're not going to be able to find an answer anywhere else! The breadth of knowledge of modern search engines is unsurpassed.

It sounds like the whole close reason has major problems. These questions are bad, but the explicit text of the close reason doesn't really indicate why.

I really don't see why looking on Google shouldn't count as general reference. It's no worse than anything else.

if you don't already know the answer to your question, you have no way to evaluate whether that first Google result is actually correct

It's the same for general reference books. Dictionaries are okay 80% of the time and atrocious the rest.

If you can't think of the right search terms to ask Google, then you're not going to be able to find an answer anywhere else! The breadth of knowledge of modern search engines is unsurpassed, especially in finding resources for your almost uniquely phrased search terms.

It sounds like the whole close reason has major problems. These questions are bad, but the explicit text of the close reason doesn't really indicate why.